Since You're Gone
by TWbasketcase
Summary: Four years have gone by and Allison, John, and Claire prepare for the returns of Brian and Andrew. Things have changed, how will the Breakfast Club cope? [Sequel to 'The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case'. Don't need to read the first one to get it]
1. Prologue

**Title**: Since Your Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Breakfast Club. I also do not own The Cars…who own the title of this story. I love The Cars. My favorite 80's band and 80's movie mashed into one story! Sadly, I still don't own either of them.  
**Rated**: T for language and drug use  
**Summary**: Four years have gone by and Andy returns to his life in Shermer, Illinois. It won't take him long to realize things have changed, and how will he cope with these changes?

**A/N**: This is a new but not so new story from me. If you don't catch on by the end of the chapter then I will explain it to you, lol. Give her a go and let me know what you think!

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**Chapter 1 – Prologue**

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**_April 27, 1988, downtown Chicago, Illinois._**

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_Bang, bang, bang! _"Will you turn that damn music down? I'm tryin' to sleep here!"

"John! Will you please bring me a towel?"

"Just pour my fuckin' drink, please?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up from the couch and made my way towards the door of my apartment. It did not surprise me – at all – that Mrs. Casey from down the hall was up here banging down the door again. I swear that old bag had nothing better to do with her time than bother us. She made it her mission to come over a couple of times a week. She never had a problem with Claire; she adored her. If John or I were to answer the door though…damn, a couple of times she actually called the cops.

"Hello?" She screamed from the other side.

I watched her silently from the peephole in the door and scrunched up my face. She had curlers in her hair and a cucumber mask on her face. She looked as if she was back from the dead or something. But since it was after midnight I think she probably just rolled out of bed; that was a more logical explanation anyways.

"John!" Claire screamed once again from the bathroom. The poor girl had been getting sick all night while her boyfriend was busy 'celebrating'. I rolled my eyes at her and craned my neck around the corner of the wall. "Will you please go help your wife?"

He glared at me and took another shot. "She ain't my wife…she's my ole lady." Brian and Eddie just shook their heads, while Jeff punched him in the arm. "That's my sister you're talking about John!"

"You're retarded," I deadpanned.

He grinned crookedly and looked at the three males in front of him. "Don't listen to the chicks…drink up!" And again they all cheered and slammed back more Jack Daniels. I looked back at the peephole as Mrs. Casey wailed on the door again.

"JOHN!" Claire bawled once more.

I grabbed at my hair and looked back at the couch. "Will you please go help her?" A small giggle came from the girl sitting there. Luckily she was in medical school and she needed the experience with pukers. That and being best friends with Claire were good enough reasons in my book. Michelle stood and quickly made her way down the hall to the bathroom to assist my ever moody roommate.

"Who's there?" I asked the door suspiciously.

"Claire?" Mrs. Casey wailed through the door.

I rolled my eyes, "No, it's Allison."

I heard a loud scoff from the other side of the door. "I want Claire!" She bellowed.

"She's indisposed of at the moment…" I turned around to glance down the hallway, only to see Michelle bolt out of the bathroom with her hand over her mouth. Claire slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. Michelle regarded me with a humorous grin and began to laugh.

"What did you hoodlums do to that poor girl?" Mrs. Casey demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "I rolled her up in a carpet and stuffed her down the trash shoot…"

Another loud roar of laughter came from the kitchen, as Bender started chanting the word "Dork," and then "Chug," followed by a round of applause. Claire was still crying from the bathroom, and Michelle looked like she couldn't keep up with the everyday chaos of our home. She was trying hard to make Claire feel better, but in her state it was damn near impossible.

I swung the door open and caught Mrs. Casey in my arms; it was quite obvious she was leaning against the door and listening through the solid metal. I cocked an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

She steadied herself and glared at me angrily. "I have been trying to sleep for the last hour and all I can hear is that crazy music and yelling. I have to go the doctor's office in the morning and I need my sleep!"

I watched her impatiently. "Okay…I'll turn the music down."

She tried to look past me, towards the noise emanating from the kitchen. "What about them?"

I looked over my shoulder at the group of boys and shrugged. "I could always roll them up in a carpet and kill them too…"

She raised her eyebrows half way up her forehead and watched me worriedly. "I worry about you, dear."

I nodded, "Yeah I do too."

She stared at me as if I had something growing out of my face. She placed her hands on her hips, shook her head, and walked back towards her apartment. "What a strange girl she is…"

I shut the door quickly behind me and did up the three padlocks on the back of it. As soon as I turned around, I was met with a very scary looking Claire. Her short red hair was wild; it stood up in all sorts of directions. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was a lot paler than usual…which was pretty damn pale if you ask me. "What did she want?" she croaked.

I held back my laugher and shrugged. "She got lost in the hallway again."

She gave me an incredulous look and shook her head. "You need to stop scaring that poor woman." Claire was a lot more sympathetic to the older lady. Of course working in a spa and dealing with all sorts of rich old bags she had more experience putting up with them than I did. I worked in a record store. I had to deal with mohawked punks, shoplifters, and vandalism. I'm still hitting myself for not choosing a better job at this point.

I snorted and raked a hand through my long hair. "Are you feeling any better?"

She sighed tiredly. "I don't know. I don't know what is meant by better anymore."

I took her gently by the elbow and led her back into the living room to sit on the couch next to Michelle. Brian and Michelle had just gotten back from New York yesterday night. Their school year was over again, and they finally made their way back to Shermer for the first time in almost two years.

Michelle had been seeing Brian straight from the day Claire introduced the two of them in her senior year. When I first met her I thought she was one of the sweetest people I had ever met. She was the first person to look past the crap and the stereotypes and support our group. I will admit that it surprised me that out of everyone, it was one of Claire's friends.

But as I got to know her, it surprised me less and less. Even though she was pretty, popular, and spunky, she was very smart and independent. She had a job and she worked for her own car and all of her nice clothes. She had stood up for us against the others - who gave us a hard time for our friendships – and she had a lot in common with Brian. They both worked very hard to maintain their grades, and both wanted to go to university to study medicine. They were the two who seemed to keep the level heads when things got out of hand between the rest of us – mainly Claire and John.

She was a senior along with Claire and Andy when we had met, so she left for school at the same time as they did. It was hard for Claire because they had been best friends for so long. It was just as hard for Brian; she was his first real girlfriend and he had to wait an entire year to be near her again. But they had stuck it out, and now they were living together in New York, where they both attended Columbia University.

"Claire, you look pale, hun…" Michelle commented, carefully placing the back of her hand against Claire's forehead.

She sighed overdramatically. "I feel like a house fell on top of me."

I laughed at her. "It's your own fault, you know…"

She glared at me. "It is not my fault!" She protested childishly. "It's his fault," she pointed at the partying, long haired boy across the room. He pointed at his chest and smirked as if it couldn't be him she was referring to. "I didn't see you complaining!"

She narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. "I hate you."

He looked back at his friends and laughed, "Let's drink for Claire…since she can't." This earned another glare from my red headed friend. "I should just toss you out of my apartment." He just snorted at her and went on with his activities.

I laughed, "Again? I think the twentieth time is pushing it, red…"

"I don't care." She folded her arms and tried to resist a smile.

Michelle chuckled at her friend. John and Claire had constantly been at each others throats when they first met…and I mean that literally. They had met in detention like the rest of us, but they had a much rockier relationship. After about two or three weeks of getting along fine, they got into this nasty fight over 'considered girls' (don't ask) and broke up. I think they drove us all crazy for about three months. Yeah…it was three long, horrid months. I mean, some people have this tension around them when they fight, but John and Claire had barbed wire…and electricity, land mines, and explosives. When they fought just about everyone came down with them. It was scary for sure.

They eventually made up…at the prom of all places; I still think Andy bribed him with something to get him there, but whatever. When Claire and I got our apartment, he was a frequent guest. She was going to college and her dad pretty much covered the rent for the two of us. Our utilities were included, so the only things we had to worry about were food, phone, and cable. Thankfully I had a job; the long distance phone calls from New York and British Columbia racked up these horrifying phone bills. Claire's dad – James – was nice and all, but I think he would of flipped his red lid if he had seen those numbers.

Of course he wasn't too happy either when he found out that John was frequenting the apartment either. He gave Claire – and even me for some reason – this huge lecture about boys, and their penises…saying they stick it in any girl that's willing and almost always impregnate them. Of course, he wasn't that blunt at all and very red in the face as he spoke. It was cute, but that didn't stop John – that boy was very persistent.

He had a job and had tried getting his own place at first, in downtown Chicago near us. Of course that didn't last him long as he never had any food and was at our place more than he was at his. He eventually got the boot from his land lord, and had no where to go. His parents didn't want him back, and his other friends all lived with their folks still…or already had too many people crashing at their places. Claire was pretty reluctant about letting him stay; hell, it was a big step. But eventually she gave in, giving him the condition that he had to sleep on the couch and stay out of her room.

Of course, that didn't last long either.

Let me tell you, living with the two of them scared the day lights out of me at first. They weren't used to seeing each other so much and the bantering and bickering grew more and more frequent; there were times that I would have rather slept on the street than in that apartment. They had gone through some nasty fights and he even ended up leaving a few times. It took some time, but after three years went by they eventually got the hang of it.

Living with another couple was kind of strange for me at times. I mean, there was always that third wheel factor, and being on the outside of many arguments (that left me in some very awkward situations, let me tell you), but they were my best friends. I usually had no problem whatsoever telling them who was in the wrong – anything to make them stop. I'm not a huge fan of fighting.

At the same time though, it was kind of hard for me. They got to live together and sleep together, and even though they fought they still had this amazing and electrifying chemistry together. That chemistry and the nice things between them really made me miss my boyfriend.

I couldn't sleep next to my boyfriend and fight with him, and tell him I love him everyday because he was over 20,000 miles away at school. The long distance relationship was a definite killer.

Before he left, we had been dating for six months. It sure didn't seem long – hell, it wasn't long at all – but we were close. We had this bond – well I can't really describe it with words and do it justice; but when he left I felt like someone had stolen my left arm…and leg…and maybe half of my brain too. I mean, I have seen him since he left…but only a few times. He came down for one and a half summers, and two Christmas's. I talked to him on the phone a lot, and I wrote him lots of letters…sent him lots of pictures and drawings. I liked to think that we kept up some sort of relationship…even though its been almost a year since I've gotten laid.

It was four years ago that he moved away. If he had gone somewhere just a wee bit closer than perhaps I would have seen him more. Maybe if things weren't so messed up at his family's house then he would be home more. I don't know…but I do know for sure that he is coming home soon. In a month, actually. I'm still not too sure how everything will go – he will be home for good for the first time in four years. Four years is a pretty long time away from someone. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he is coming…but scared shitless and nervous at the same time.

In the meantime, though…my other friends were home.

Brian stumbled over to the couch and grinned at Claire. "You sure have a nice place here." He steadied himself of the arm of said couch. He was a lot bigger and more mature now. It still cracked me up to see him drunk…it wasn't something I got to see very often.

She cocked an amused eyebrow at him. "Well thanks, Brian. I'm glad you came home to see it."

He laughed lightly and raked a hand through his - now very short – blonde hair. "New York is great and all…but I needed to come home. It gets way too hectic there for my liking."

"What were the chicks like?" Bender asked, annoyingly.

Brian laughed, "I was there with my lovely girlfriend, jerk!"

Bender cocked an amused eyebrow and folded his arms. "Are you trying to tell me that you never scoped any ass out?"

"John!" Claire scolded.

I laughed, as did Brian. He looked at Michelle. "I didn't, I swear."

She shook her head and looked ready to burst out laughing at him. "That's fine…"

Brian looked at Bender and then back at Michelle, and then back at Bender. "Just hers…"

Bender laughed out loud and smacked him playfully on the arm. I was always amused by the two of them when they were together. At first it was because of Brian's awkwardness…John was kind of like a leader, while Brian was always completely fascinated with him. They had this hilarious dynamic where John would have so much fun with him, and Brian would be so embarrassed, yet animated at the same time. Of course, now Brian was bigger than John was, and not quite as awkward as he used to be; which still made it all the more interesting in my eyes, because – hell – it's been a long time since I had seen the two of them together.

Brian stood up and looked at the clock. "It's getting kind of late…maybe we should get going now?" Michelle just shrugged her shoulders and began to stand up.

John's demeanor slumped. "You can't leave now! It's only 1:30!"

I rolled my eyes and flipped on the TV. Jeopardy! re-runs were on.

"But," Brian started to interrupt, "I have people I have to see tomorrow morning."

Claire cleared her throat. "I really need to sleep, John."

I cocked an eyebrow at the TV. "And now for double Jeopardy!" I laughed a bit; I loved Jeopardy!

"Oh come on, guys!" He tapped Claire's arm like an impatient child. "But your brother and Eddie came all this way…"

I looked at Jeff and smirked; he was drunk as a skunk anyways. As soon as he found out about Claire, he came bounding on over to get drunk with John. He was only a few years older than us, but he was a very cool guy and he and Claire were very close. I had met him first a few months before Claire and I had moved in together. He was very talkative, so much in fact that I was pretty scared of him.

He had a tendency to be cocky and he loved to party, but he was very caring. Attitude wise he actually reminded me a lot of John, which is why I think they get along so well. At first it was kind of shaky between the two of them, but eventually they realized they were oh so very 'cool' and became friends. Fashion wise, however, he was a lot more like Claire or Andy…wearing things that made him look good. He was a very handsome guy, he was tall, had brown hair, and dark eyes. He also had a very nice physique; that guy got more girls in the span of a few months than I had fingers and toes.

Eddie on the other hand, was my boss. My very flamboyant and a lot older boss; he had ten years on the rest of us. I first met him four years ago when I applied for my first position at the record store. I had a lot on common with him, we both loved older rock bands, we were both vegetarians, and we both swooned over Andy. It was kind of strange talking about my boyfriend with another guy who thought he was attractive, but I became comfortable with him very quickly. He was just very personable and easy to get along with. His partner is a whole other story; that guy just does not like me for some reason. Maybe it's because we would get Eddie all crazy like. I don't know for sure.

Eddie had been very good to me over the years. He had ended up promoting me in the store from lowly cashier to assistant manager and receiver. He had always put a lot of faith in me, and for that he got me out of a lot of jams and tough times.

"I think Eddie and Jeff are ready to go pass out somewhere anyways," I interrupted Bender, much to his dismay. He growled at me and I narrowed my eyes in challenge.

Claire stood up slowly. "I'll go call a cab."

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Once everyone was out of the house, Claire tiredly closed the door behind her, and rubbed her stomach. "I am beat." 

John waved her off comically. "I'm fine…let's find something else to do…"

Claire rolled her eyes "No, you're drunk and you have to go to work in the morning."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "No…not till 10:00."

She pulled him by the elbow and shook her head. "Let's go to bed, please? I'm tired."

He let his hair fall in front of his face and grumbled. "You're always tired now."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well that's to be expected, isn't it? Keep your dick in your pants and you wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing."

He raised his hand and pointed at me, but Claire grabbed his arm and cut him off. "Bed…now."

He narrowed his eyes at me before he walked away. "You smart ass."

"Good night!" I called behind them. I heard the sound of their door closing, and I was left alone once again in the darkness with only Alex Trebek to keep me company. Jeopardy! was great and all, but it didn't make that great of a companion to all of us lonely night people.

"Welcome back to final Jeopardy! everyone. Just as a reminder, our final clue was…" I watched as Alex shuffled his cue cards together. "In what sport did big man Andre Rene Rousimoff participate in to become not only the largest athlete, but one of the biggest superstars of all time?"

Allison snorted, "That would be wrestling, Alex."

"And football is incorrect, George. The answer you were looking for is wrestling."

Allison snorted. She hated wrestling…but somehow always knew all the stupid answers in relation to it. She pulled a blanket up around from the other end of the couch. She watched out the window and into the darkness of the night.

_The answer you were looking for is wrestling._

She sighed and closed her eyes tightly. Suddenly, she felt lonelier than ever.

_**To Be Continued**_

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**A/N: **Okay, so as some of you may have guessed, this is the start of the sequel to 'The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case'. For any of you new readers don't worry…I am going to try and explain things as best as I can if you don't want to read the original (which is fine). For those of you who have read it, I hope you like it so far. If there are any questions you may have, feel free to ask me. Don't let the sequel part turn you off…give it a chance! For those wondering, we'll hear from Andy in the next chapter. Love it or hate it, let me know what you think! Thanks! 


	2. Prologue, Part 2

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sex.  
**Chapter Summary**: Second part of the prologue. Takes place a little while after the first, only now we're in Canada and with Andy.  
**A/N**: Dudes and dudettes, I know that the chapter took awhile, but I was really focusing on finishing my other fics before I continued with this one. Now that Next Time Around is pretty much done, this one will get promoted to frequent update status. Thanks for waiting around for my lazy ass, and enjoy the chapter!

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**Chapter 2 – Prologue, Part 2**

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_**May 30, 1988 – Whistler, British Columbia**_

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He smiled widely as the cool air whipped at his face. Even though it was late April, the mountain tops of Whistler still beamed with white snow. He never quite got over how beautiful it really was; Illinois was great and all, but Canada was a whole new world to him.

Sometimes it disappointed him that he had to go back.

He loved where he was at this point in his life. He hadn't heard from his father since his last home visit, he had made some great friends, he was doing well in school, and most of all, he learned to love wrestling again.

The college sports world of Canada was a lot different than that of the United States. There, sports were taken very seriously; so much in fact, that often times popular prime time shows were preempted to air college games. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people would show up to a single meet, and sometimes, parents took their kids' sport so seriously they would beat up other parents. American sports were taken so seriously.

Canada on the other hand, was a lot more liberal. A couple hundred people – at most – would show up here and there and it would all be fun. There were no pro scouts watching, or coaches threatening scholarships, it was all for fun. They knew it would be over as soon as graduation came.

Andy loved that.

He knew it was exactly what he needed in terms of his wrestling career. He didn't want to go to the Olympics or the WWF…he just wanted to have some fun, keep in shape, and get through school. He knew that he did sacrifice the support of his father, but things had never gotten better between them. His father never valued the fact that he was getting better grades than ever before. His father did not acknowledge the fact that he won pretty much all of his tournaments. His old man never got over the fact that he chose an 'Eskimo' joke school over an Ivy League American one. Most of all, Richard Clark never forgave his son for pushing him out of his all-star future.

Andy knew damn well that old Rich wanted nothing more than that control back.

For most of his life, Richard had been there on the sidelines rooting and cheering his son on. He got so pumped and excited for the game that sometimes Andy had forgotten that it was indeed himself that was playing that day. His father would often refer to his wins as 'their' wins, and his team as 'their' team…so many times his father had himself confused with his son. After awhile, Andy felt absolutely no sense of individuality or independence whatsoever. It was never about his happiness anymore, it was about his father's.

That didn't mean that Andy didn't appreciate the interest. He knew damn well that if no one paid attention to his wrestling, he probably would have had a hard time succeeding. It was the people who gave him confidence – the ones who said that he was a winner – that drove him to his limits. Without that aspect of his father's, Andrew wouldn't have ever taken it as seriously as he did. It was when his old man took it too far that wrestling had begun to take its toll.

Unfortunately, his father took it too far more often than not.

But now he was living in Vancouver, British Columbia. He had completed a four year journalism course at the University of British Columbia – which at the time was rated in the top 5 schools in the country. A lot of people had gone completely shocked when they found out where he was going, and in a lot of cases he had quite a bit of explaining to do – namely when it came to his girlfriend. He could of chosen any school he wanted at the time; he could have went to Ohio, Texas, Penn State, New York, Michigan, or Indiana…but he chose to go as far away as possible.

But that didn't come without a lot of thinking on his part as well.

It all started when his older brother had come home from Victoria. His older brother was an anthropology major at his university in California, and for a school project he had to go to Canada for a study of Native Aboriginals. Chuck had sent him all sorts of postcards and pictures from his time spent there, and the only thing he could think was paradise. The weather wasn't so bad when they were out on the island; it didn't get to hot or too cold, it was on the ocean, and it kind of rained a lot. The population – compared to that of Chicago and other big American cities – was tiny. Andy felt secluded and ready start fresh in his life.

Things had gotten ugly at home right before he left. His father and brother had left, leaving his mother alone with the two younger boys and Chuck. Since that day, Andy had always felt extremely guilty; he knew the whole fight was his fault in the first place. His family hadn't been very close – or good at getting together – since then, but he still felt good seeing them the limited times that he got to.

But in the end, he was happiest where he was. He had no pressures on him for competing; he had a lot of extra time to focus on his grades, no family fights, and the peace and relaxation to catch up on lost time from his teenage years. Because of his constant training, he didn't have the opportunity to get out and do what he wanted to do; now that he was out on his own, he could ski, snowboard, swim, hike; he even got to go to a few basketball and hockey games. He got himself a decent job at the local newspaper writing lifestyle and fitness articles; he wasn't on the front page or anything, but he got a weekly slot on the sixth page for the city's B paper.

He had also made a lot of new friends during his stay. He had his room mates, a few boys and girls from his course and of course, his wrestling team mates. Life was definitely good to him in Vancouver.

That wasn't to say that there weren't a few people that he did miss in Shermer.

He had met the rest of the Breakfast Club the March before he graduated. He had some sort of relationship with each of them; all of them in which he grew fondly close to. Each one of them was completely different from the other, but the appeal was that they had an uncanny way of understanding and relating to one another. Each one of them was awesome to have around in their own way.

Brian was probably the easiest for Andy to fall into a friendship with. He was very smart – maybe a little naïve – and funny as hell. Both Brian and Andy had the same tastes in movies, cartoons, and video games. They could chat and argue all day about which new Alien horror movie was worse, and who could get the best score in Pacman. Brian was a good buddy for Andy to just lounge around and talk to. There was never any hostility between the two of them, and they enjoyed each other's company when it came time to just chill out and relax.

Claire was the other one that was easy for him to fall into a friendship with. They had dated each other's friends, and their friends dated their friends…needless to say their groups had pretty much been intertwined from the start. They understood each other in a way that the others couldn't; they came from fairly well off families, were both considered pretty popular, and were both very active in social clubs and outings, as well as school functions. When things got tough with their friends at school – especially when it came to the other members of the breakfast club – it was easy to talk to Claire because she knew exactly where he was coming from. It was also easy for the two of them to relate to one another when it came to their 'significant others'; both Allison and John came from worlds Claire and Andy knew nothing about. When problems arose between them – which was often – Claire always understood how he felt.

He could not say the same for one John Bender. They were friends…but they were pretty fucked up friends. John was – what they considered – the 'other' alpha male of the group. So many times him and Andy had fought and argued and disagreed – there were a few times that they had even gotten into physical altercations due to their disagreements. They had always made up in the end, but the tension was always there. That wasn't to say that Andy didn't like John – or could never get along with him – because that was far from the truth. John did have that competitive, stand up, dangerous quality about him – one that Andy shared as well – which did, at times, made them a force to be reckoned with. They also understood each other well when it came to their fathers. It wasn't something that they talked about together often, but it was something that was always there. John's father didn't treat him well, even going as far as hitting him when he 'screwed up'. Andy's father had never hit him, but he punished him in different ways.

And then there was Allison. She had to be the most beautiful and unique female he had ever met. She opened his eyes from the first day he had known her; in a way he could say that it was her influence that gave him the balls to up and leave town. Of course, she would never want to either admit to or think that, but inwardly, he thanked her for that. She had taught him to think for himself – to be free. He found it ironic at times, because she seemed so fragile and unstable herself…yet she had such a huge, positive (his father would argue that) influence on him. For many months, she was his most trustworthy and loyal companion. She was everything in a person that he admired.

She was the first person he had told that he was leaving. She didn't seem to take it too well; of course she just tried to cover it up, telling him that she was just happy he was doing what he wanted to do, but he could always see this sense of longing and desperation behind her eyes thereafter. It had killed him inside the day he left to walk away from her, but he knew in the long run that it would be better for the both of them.

Since he had left Shermer, Illinois four years ago, things between him and Allison had been all but perfect. Yes, he did miss her terribly. No, he didn't see or speak with her as often as he wanted to. There were times, when he first arrived, that he just wanted to break down and go home. He felt lost and alone, but at the time they had talked to each other on the phone at the very least once a week. She sent him pictures and drawings, and all sorts of letters. He would send her postcards and T-shirts, and newspaper clippings from his tournaments. Those first few months would have been hard to get by if it wasn't for the fact that she was there – all those miles away – missing him and encouraging him to go where he wanted to go.

Out of four years, he had made it back to Shermer for one and a half summers – after his first and third years – and two Christmas' – during his first and second years. He could easily admit that as the years and months went by, his visits and phone calls had become a lot less frequent. It wasn't that he didn't want to make those calls or visits – it was quite the opposite – but rather because he had gotten into the habit of saving his money for the future, and because he had settled in quite comfortably.

Allison hadn't seemed too bothered by it; in fact – like usual – she was overly supportive and happy that he was happy. He couldn't be more thankful that he had such a wonderful girlfriend.

But of course, that also proved to be a bit of a problem.

She was great; in fact, he thought she was more than great: amazing, wonderful, maybe even incredible. But Andrew Clark didn't think that he could really say the same thing about himself. He didn't have that same strong hope and courage that she did. He knew damn well that she was sitting at home waiting for him to come home; she was probably tidying up her place, washing her bed sheets, doodling all sorts of pictures, and probably planning something for him. She was great like that. He, on the other hand, didn't find himself doing the same type of things in his spare time. Of course he had his bags packed, and his plane ticket ready to go, but up until today, he didn't quite find himself occupying his time with as many thoughts about home.

He had a bit of problem left in Vancouver.

Another gust of wind struck at his face, and he lowered his goggles down over his eyes. He bent his knees and got in the starting position. To his left, his snowboarding partner gave him the nod and a thumbs up.

"On the count of three! One, two, three, go!"

On the command of go, both participants launched down the top of the hill at speeds faster than a speeding car. Andy never got to experience much – in terms of winter sports – when he lived in Shermer, but having the world class Whistler Mountain not so far away from his dorm, proved to be a great time consumer for him. He picked up on snowboarding and skiing quick, and he had no problem finding friends to accompany him.

He watched as his partner began to inch forward. He bent his knees some more and straightened out his board, preparing for a small jump. Once over the ramp, he gained some more speed, and began to increase on his partner. He received a peeved glare for his efforts, but nonetheless, they were both inching towards the finish line.

They were probably only ten feet away when he went crashing to the ground, spilling over a patch of ice. His board spun beneath him, and on his back, he reached the finish line – in second place.

He pulled his goggles off of his head and raised his hand to his eyes to protect himself from the bright sunlight. He groaned, and threw himself into a sitting position, angrily pulling off his boot snaps.

And of course, the laughter had to start.

He glared towards his partner. "Do you find something funny?"

"Maybe you falling on your ass! Do realize this is the fourth time in a row that I have beat you?"

He rolled his eyes and pulled his boots off of his board. "Of course, and you just have to rub it in my face, don't you?" He received a smug grin for his efforts, and a hand offering to pull him up. He took it gratefully and grinned. "At least we made it down this time. That has to be the hardest hill here."

"Not entirely. If you had some more time here, I could show you around…including the hard hills."

Andy shook his head, a little annoyed. "Alex, you know I can't. I have to go home. I have a job waiting for me, an apartment waiting for me…"

"A delusioned girlfriend to propose to…" Alex pulled off her helmet, letting her long blonde curls fall over her shoulders. She shook her head at him sadly. "I don't get you…"

He glared at her. "Don't talk about her. You know nothing about us."

She stepped closer to him, so they were only standing a few inches apart. "I know enough of what's been going on between us to know that you couldn't take her as seriously as you claim." She brushed her lips over his and stared at him through long eyelashes. "I don't mean to sound like a bitch, Andrew. I'm just going to miss you."

He stepped back from her, holding her at arms length. "I'll miss you too, Alex." He raked a hand through his blonde hair. "But I can't keep doing this. I have to go back home, I have to see _her_."

Alex shook her head at him and shrugged. "Well then, will you at least let me send you home with something to remember me by?"

Andy hesitated, hating himself every inch all over again. Every time he told himself that he shouldn't be doing what he was doing, he ended up letting temptation and his loneliness take over him. Alex really was a great girl…they had a lot in common…but they both knew damn well that they only shacked up when things got rough. Neither of them was from Canada, and both of them had lovers waiting for them at home.

"I-I shouldn't, Alex…you know this isn't right…" His stomach lurched at the pout that played over her lips, and he knew he was done for.

"You'll never even see me again," He bright blue eyes softened. "You've been so good to me…" He said nothing and just gathered up his board, trying his absolute hardest to not meet her gaze. When he said nothing and began to walk past her, she grabbed his elbow. "No one will ever even know. I just need to see you one last time…before I don't get to again."

He sighed and looked down at his feet. "I'm going up to the lodge to warm up and shower. If you want to meet me for dinner in an hour…then that's fine."

She gave him an appreciative grin and clapped her hands together. "Great…I'll see you at six then!" She gathered her board and ran past him, towards the chair lift. He watched her retreating form, as a whole slew of emotions rumbled around in his gut.

He didn't know how to feel about that situation. On one hand, he was madly in love with his girlfriend at home – who no doubt was greatly anticipating his return home tomorrow, but on the other, Alex had been there. When he felt completely alone, and vice versa, they had stayed up talking and comforting each other. When one thing led to another, he couldn't for the life of him stop himself. He needed to feel loved, and needed, and touched. He needed that comfort. She was the only one who was there to give it to him.

His head and his southern region urged him to go, but somewhere deep in his chest he knew it would be a bad idea. Sure they were never going to see each other again, and sure neither Allison nor Alex's fiancée would find out…but where did that actually leave him? He felt guilty as hell, but at the same time it was going to be hard to say good bye to her.

He tucked his board under his arm and proceeded up the trail towards the ski lodge. His stomach turned, yet he couldn't tell for sure if it was because he was ready for dinner with Alex, or because he was anxious to go home to Allison.

Either way, he had a funny feeling that the next twenty four hours would take him to both destinations.

For that he fucking hated himself.

_**TBC**_

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**A/N**: Twist? I know. I hope you all don't hate him though! I also want to clarify on the POV change. I want to keep Allison in the first person, mainly because that was what the original was all about. But one thing a lot of readers wanted out of the first one, was some sort of insight on the rest of the BC…so alternating, I will give that to you…even John and Claire. (I know, cheers! Yay!) So I hope you all (somewhat) enjoyed that, and aren't ready to shoot me. The prologue is now over…the story will pick up next chapter, from Bender's POV. Oh yeah, and don't forget to press that little purple button down there and drop me a line! Bye! 


	3. Stuck in the Middle of it All

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Bender comes home from work; reflecting on Claire, his roommate, and a surprise phone call.  
**A/N**: Sorry for the delay guys! I guess I really got you guys with the last chapter, huh? I'm sorry…but it will play in integral part in the fic. So thank you so much for the feedback, and I am really happy that this story is starting to pick up its pace.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Pat Benatar or Def Leppard…and nor do I hate them like Bender does.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Stuck in the Middle of it All**

* * *

"Fuckin' asshole! Yeah, fuck you dick head!" Bender slumped back in his seat hard and frowned. He was stuck in traffic, again, and like the past experiences, he was plagued with a little road rage.

He stuck his head out his window and bit his bottom lip. He slammed the wheel hard to the left and pressed down on the gas pedal. He swerved around the car in front of him, driving down the wrong side of the road in the process, and swerved between three more cars. A horn blared as he came inches from the hood of a Mercedes, and he shot up his middle finger.

"You hood! Watch where you're going!" A grey haired man in a business suit yelled.

Bender snarled, "I'll watch where I'm going alright, right back to your house to fuck your wife again!"

The older man glared at him. "You better watch your mouth!"

"Or what, grandpa?" He shot him his most intimidating glare.

The older man just shook his head and sped off. Bender sat back in his seat once more and sighed. He hated driving in traffic; Claire would only kill him if she ever saw him 'treating' her car this way. He rolled his eyes at the thought, hearing her voice nagging at him in his head.

He looked around the car and began rummaging through his girlfriend's tape deck; she had so much bullshit music in the car he could have made better noise with his asshole. He picked up a Def Leppard tape and smirked; she and Allison knew every damn word to the cassette and he had heard it more times than he would like to admit.

Those girls tortured him.

There were quite a few instances where he was able to agree on music tastes with Allison. But his tastes in music and Claire's were miles apart, and it wasn't only him that complained about it either; she had – on more than one occasion – made remarks about his favorite bands. How all they do is sing about drugs, and wear pants that were way too tight for them. It was one thing to joke on Led Zeppelin, but when she starts making comments on Slash and the rest of Guns N' Roses…oh that girl had another thing coming.

He let out a snort in spite of himself and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, cutting through a dungy alley way. He knew he just broke about four laws, but he would rather get home to some grub then give a shit. He spun his wheels at the end of the alley and swung a right. In less than three minutes, he had pulled up to the parking lot of the apartment complex.

It was a pretty repetitive routine for the long haired man, but it was one that he had come to enjoy. Working at the auto shop had really been a positive thing in his life; before the job came along all he had was school – which was not really his cup of tea – and his parents, who weren't really his cup of a tea either. The garage gave him some time away from his home life, and helped him learn in an area that actually interested him. He had started off just painting and cleaning floors, but now he made his way up to an apprenticeship, which his good friend Danny had provided him with for free.

It had been four years now since he had started working there, and it brought him in a steady pay. It wasn't much at first, just a few cents up from minimum wage, but he had kept making raises and eventually got himself in a comfortable position where he could afford to feed himself every week. As soon as his apprenticeship was finished he could write his mechanics test, then he would be rolling in the cash.

He flung his keys round in circles as he approached the apartment door. He stopped and frowned when he heard the noise coming from the door.

They were doing it again.

He paused and readied himself for what he was about to see. He knew that it wouldn't be pretty…and that he would probably have to get them under control.

It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.

He opened the door quietly and the beats of the music blasted his ears. He wouldn't be surprised if his ear drums would develop blisters later on. He took a few slow steps inside and peered his head around the corner wall. Allison was perched in the kitchen with a dish rag in her hand, bubbles on her face, and dishes stacked next to her. He tipped toed forward to the living room and looked for his girlfriend; she stood – shaking her hips – and waving the vacuum cord around in her left hand.

They were dancing and singing as loud as they could…and he was horrified.

She has pushing the vacuum back and forth on the rug; neither of the two girls had noticed his presence, they only heard the voice of Pat Benatar and her damn 'Love is a Battle Field'. He cringed, took a deep breath, and dropped all his shit on the floor. Claire turned around as fast as she could and glared at him.

They gazed into each other's eyes with menacing glares. She slowly dropped the vacuum and started to run. He wasn't going to let her win! He couldn't! He ran after her, easily slipping through the bedroom door in front of her and dove a good three feet towards the stereo. She grabbed at his arms to prevent him from shutting it off, but he was stronger and faster than her (especially in her state) and pressed the 'stop' button with his index finger, and then proceeded to fall to the floor.

"John you dick!" He heard Allison call from the living room. He had no cares though; his mission was completed and the horrid music was shut off.

"Success!" He screamed and laughed.

Claire put her hands on her hips and kicked him. "You're an asshole."

He furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a look of mock sincerity. "No, Pat Benatar…she's an asshole. My ears were being poisoned." He rolled onto his elbows and lifted himself from the floor. As he stood, he was smacked in the face with a wet dish cloth. "What the fuck was that for?"

Allison glared at him. "Ruining our fun."

He rubbed the side of his now wet cheek. "You guys are crazy."

Claire rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the arm, leading him from the room. "You are so overdramatic."

He dusted off his pants and flopped down on the couch. "You'll thank me someday."

She smiled at him. "I'm sure I will."

"So what's for din?" He gave the girls an encouraging look. "What? I'm hungry!"

Allison looked at Claire, smirked, and then walked back into the kitchen to finish the dishes. Claire just gave him a scolding look. "I was cleaning, thank you very much. I hadn't gotten around to cooking anything."

Bender scratched his head. "Do we have to order out _again_?"

She snorted. "You could always get Allison to cook you something."

Bender's eyes widened and he lunged for the phone book. Claire giggled at his antics and left the room to go join their friend. Bender flipped through the pages as fast as he could until he came across the restaurant section. He dialed the first number that he laid his eyes on.

"Tank you fo' callin' Yoshiro Japanese," the voice on the other end picked up.

Bender hesitated and then thought; Allison's cooking, or Japanese? He wasn't a huge fan of oriental food; he always got gas. His decision was easy. "Yeah I need food."

"Okay, wat you wan'? We have free delvery on Friday." The voice questioned.

Bender bit his lip. "Just send me one of your meal deals."

"You wan' Sushi?"

Bender's stomach lurched and he tried to keep his voice steady. "Yeah…sure." He hated sushi, but unfortunately, Claire did not. He swallowed; he was _so_ pussy whipped.

"Okay twenty-five minutes, suh," The voice finished.

"How much?" Bender demanded.

"Twenty two dolla," came the reply.

Bender cringed. "Fine." He slammed the phone down and looked back up and noticed Claire standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. She cocked an eyebrow. "What did you order?"

"Japanese," He grumbled.

"Sushi?"

His face contorted and he glared at her. "Yes, sushi," he mocked her voice. She gave him a smile.

"You're so sweet."

"Shut up."

She grinned at him. "So guess what?"

He rolled his eyes, more to bug her than anything. "What?"

"Your child kicked me today." She had a shine in her eyes that he could only decipher as love and joy. It made him smile a bit. Of course he didn't want to come off as a softie. He was very scared when he first heard that Claire was pregnant; it definitely was not something that they were planning. They were fine financially, but John wasn't sure if he was stable enough for the whole father thing. Then he had some time to sit on it and decided that he was okay with it, as long as it was a boy. There was no way in hell he was playing with Barbie's and doing hair bows.

"Was it hard?" He asked playfully.

She picked up a throw pillow from the side of the couch and tossed it at him. "It didn't hurt, if that's what you're hoping. It just scared me…I wasn't expecting it."

Allison walked into the room. "Well if it's John's kid then you can probably expect it to happen a lot more."

Claire smiled and John rolled his eyes. "Whatever Al, your kid will probably be born with teeth." When she glared at him, he grinned. "And pointy ears…and a pair of tights."

"Very funny," She deadpanned.

"Oh I'm not done!" He exclaimed excitedly. "It will have horns and moles, and it will probably come out humping doctors, you know, being a nympho and all. And then start sucking on their necks with the pointy teeth…"

Claire gave him a bemused look and held up her hand. "I think that's enough."

Allison smirked and made a whipping motion behind Claire's back. John glared and opened up his mouth.

"Shut it!" Claire screamed. He sat back in his seat and stared at her. She had sure become touchy with all of those hormones. He sat back and watched as the two girls exited the room, Allison back to the kitchen, and Claire down the hall towards the bathroom. Bender sighed and looked around the room. He was about to turn on the TV when the phone rang. He leaned over and picked it up.

"City morgue, you stab 'em, we slab 'em," He said in sing song voice.

He heard a chuckle on the other end. "Hey, Bender."

John perked an eyebrow at the voice. He hadn't heard that one in many months. "That you, Sporto?"

There was a pause. "Yeah it's me." Bender heard some shuffling around on the other end. He cocked his eyebrow once more. "What the fuck are you doing, sucking cock?"

Allison emerged from the kitchen. "Who are you talking to?"

Bender looked up, but was cut off by Andrew's voice. "Is that Allison?"

Bender looked back up at her and raised a finger, signaling for her to wait. "Yeah."

"It's not me, okay?" Bender furrowed his eyebrows at that, but complied none the less.

"It's Danny." He lied. She said nothing and turned back into the kitchen. He took a deep breath and then lowered his voice. "What's up man? Why don't you wanna talk to her? She's been waitin' for ya you know…"

"One question at a time, man!" Andy snapped. Bender rolled his eyes at the other boy. The two were friends, but only dysfunctional ones. They loved to disagree with one another, and on top of that, piss each other off. It was an acquired taste for the both of them.

"Okay, what is going on," Bender asked slowly, with an edge to his voice.

"I'm coming home a day early…I want to surprise her." Bender's eyebrows rose at this. After he said nothing, Andrew continued. "I haven't talked to her in like two weeks, so she has no idea."

Bender furrowed his eyebrows. "And what's up with that? You busy with something more important?"

A pause and then Andy cleared his throat. "No, I was just busy with my finals is all."

Bender sighed. "So why you tellin' me this crap?"

"Because I am gonna need you to come pick me up at the airport tomorrow…if you don't mind."

John rolled his eyes; he figured the jock wanted a favor. He sighed. "What time?"

"10:30," he replied.

John grunted. "I can't."

He heard shuffling. "Why the hell not, man? Look, I'll pay for your gas."

Bender heaved another sigh. "Claire needs me to go to the doctor with her."

"Is she dying or something?"

Bender rolled his eyes, silently wondering why he didn't know. "She's knocked up, Sporto."

"Oh." Oh was right; Bender laughed at his reaction. "Look its just for a check up…I'll tell her I can't skip work…but you owe me."

"How much you want?" Andy asked quite hesitantly.

Bender snickered. "You have no idea what it is like dealing with that woman's wrath…"

Andy sighed, "Is fifty bucks okay?"

Bender shrugged. "I suppose. I would also like some beer. And for you to admit that you like boys."

"Fuck you," Andy growled. Bender laughed at him. "Look Bender, you know I wouldn't ask, but I really don't want to deal with my folks the second I get back into town. I'll give you the money and the beer."

John rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I'll see you tomorrow."

"What you're just gonna hang up on me?"

John heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Look, talking on the phone like a bitch is really not my cup of tea. I will see ya tomorrow man."

Andy just chuckled at his statement. "Fine…look, thanks man."

John rolled his eyes. "Don't get all mushy on me."

"Bye jackass."

"See ya, jock strap." He hung up the phone quickly. Neither of the two girls seemed to have heard him so he just sat back on the couch.

Sporto had seemed off to him. We wasn't sure why, but he figured that he had changed a great deal since they had last seen him over a year ago. He really wasn't one to get involved in other people's business, but something just wasn't right.

Allison had been extremely excited all fucking year because he was coming home. She had helped Andy's brother in setting him up with an apartment, getting his station wagon out of storage, and even helping him get things set up for his new job. She was really anticipating his return, while Andrew…well, he wasn't quite sure.

The letter and photo mailing had really seemed to be one sided recently. She pined for him, while Andrew seemed to be just going with the flow. It was their relationship, and their business, but Bender wasn't about to let Andrew come waltzing back into their lives so that he could fuck shit up.

He had always been rather close to Allison; stemming back to the days when he had no where to go. As a result of asshole parents (both his and others'), she was the one who took him in when things got rough. They understood each other rather well – despite their bickering – and his friendship with her had only strengthened over the years.

If sporto had something up his sleeve, he wouldn't hesitate in kicking his pansy ass.

"John!" Claire hollered from the door. His eyes shot up to her. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "You paying?"

He grumbled as he stood and dug into his wallet. He pulled out a twenty and a five and dropped it into the young Asian boy's hands. The boy gave him a nod, mumbled a thank –you, and took off. Bender shut the door, and followed Claire to the living room.

* * *

Bender laid on his bed as Claire got changed. Not that he just stared at her – well it was kind of fun – but he just couldn't help but notice how much she was growing. In just four months he was going to be a dad.

She pulled on a button up shirt and proceeded to do them up. She turned around and smirked when she noticed him staring. "Would you like a camera?" She batted her eyelashes.

He smirked. "If I had a camera you can damn well bet there would be some interesting shit on there."

She rolled her eyes and crawled on to the bed next to him. "So you're skipping out tomorrow?"

He felt his breath hitch and he turned his head. "You sneaky little bitch…"

She rolled her eyes. "I heard you say Sporto…and then you told Allison it was Danny…I couldn't help myself!" She defended.

He rolled his eyes and turned on his side, resting his head on his hand. "He wants it to be a surprise."

"I know."

"Did you just pick up the phone and listen to the whole fucking thing?" He asked, exasperated.

She blushed a bit and smiled. "Well maybe…"

He rolled his eyes and gently pushed himself on top of her. "How could you do such a thing?"

She giggled from underneath of him and pressed her lips against his. "I learn from the best…"

He smirked and bent down once more, his hair falling down on to her cheeks. "Why thank you…"

She let out a snort of laughter. "I was talking about Allison."

He rolled over off of her and pretended to be upset. "Oh that hurts."

She laughed and leaned over so that she was hovering over him. "Oh you know I'm joking."

He looked up at her seriously. "Don't fucking tell her, you got it?"

She nodded. "I won't. I think it's kind of romantic."

Bender shrugged. "It makes me want to puke." She hit him lightly in the chest and smiled at him. "You're sweet to do that for him."

He stared at her seriously. "I'm not doing it for him."

She nodded her head and sighed. "Can you at least pretend?"

He shrugged. "I suppose. Look, am I gonna get laid or not, because I can feel your boobs on my chest and its turning me on."

Her face went red and she slapped him once more on the chest. "You know, that's what got us in this predicament in the first place…"

He rolled his eyes. "Its not like I can double impregnate you."

She was about to protest, but her mouth was covered by the rough and begging lips of John Bender. He pulled her down and flipped her over, he was going to have one night of pleasure and piece before shit turned to chaos.

Because it was only a matter of time before it did.

_**TBC**_

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**A/N**: Okay, that was weird because it was a lot of dialogue…I hope that didn't bother anyone too much. So there was John…Andy is coming home, Allison knows nothing, and John stills hates sushi. Yep, even though things change, some things do stay the same. Lol, I hope you enjoyed chapter one, please review! 


	4. Just a little Patience

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality.  
**Chapter Summary**: Claire goes to see the doctor for her check-up, while Bender and Andrew meet again.  
**A/N**: Hey all! Thanks for all of the great reviews last chapter! I'm glad that everyone is starting to get into this! Anyhow, Andy and Allison won't be meeting this chapter…that will be next. BUT! In this one, we do get to find out more about Claire and John's baby, as well as some more about life the past four years. So I do hope that you enjoy it, and are patient with the big reunion…here is chapter 4!  
**A/N 2**: I must say that I do love the Cars; the song that gave me the title Since You're Gone always does help me get my muse back. It really suits the fic well. I recommend you listen! Now on with the show!

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**Chapter 4 – Just a little Patience**

* * *

Dr. Goldman gave Claire a warm smile as he released the inflated cuff from her arm. "Well, you're blood pressure is good. In fact, I would say that you are in wonderful health."

She let out a breath and smiled back at him. "Well that's…_good_."

He chuckled at her and flipped to the second page on his clipboard. "You're height has remained the same – obviously, you've gained about 17 pounds so far…" Claire whined and scrunched up her face. The doctor gave her another laugh and smiled. "Miss Standish you are only going to gain more so I would suggest that you accept it. We've had this conversation before."

"I know, but I feel like a fat pig." She crossed her arms over her chest.

He shook his head and let his glasses fall down onto his chest; they were being held around his neck by a small gold chain. "And you will. But it's completely normal."

She looked up at the ceiling. "Will I ever look nice again, _ever_?"

He chuckled. "You look marvelous now."

"I look like a house."

"No, you look like a beautiful young woman preparing for motherhood. It's special." He pointed out.

"Whatever. What else do we need to do today? I think I would like to drop the topic of my weight."

"Well why don't we discuss the baby?" He gave her a warm smile and sat down on a chair across from her.

She smiled brightly. "Of course. What would you like to talk about?"

"Well," He put his glasses back on his nose as he spoke, "Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"Well…what is my baby like at this stage? I mean, last we spoke we were talking about rubbery skeletons and developing ears." She cringed at the mental picture.

The doctor gave a hearty laugh. "Well now you can expect the baby to have doubled in length…have developed eye lids and eyebrows. Now we are looking at extended lung development, eyeball development, and nervous system development. You're baby will be controlling his or her movements at this point."

Claire smiled. "It did kick me yesterday morning. I could have sworn it was hungry."

"That's excellent to hear, Claire." The doctor began scribbling more on to his clip board. "Before we start the ultra sound, where is John today?"

She rolled her eyes. "Picking up a friend of ours from the airport; he wanted to come, I figure he will be happy that he is at least making some money from it."

The doctor gave an amused snort and nodded his head. "Well we will just have to do without his ever graceful presence today, now won't we?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm heart broken."

He took his glasses from his face and gave her a pointed look. "You better not keep that up, young lady; you're beginning to sound like him."

She laid back and lifted up the front of her gown. "How could you say such a thing?"

He replaced his glasses and turned towards the ultra sound. "I've known you since you were a young girl." He gave her another pointed look. "I delivered you, and now I'm delivering your own child. I think I have the right to say that you are beginning to sound like a smart ass."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry."

He grinned at her and began to rub a cold substance on her stomach. "That's better. Now how does that feel?"

She shivered. "Cold."

He laughed. "Well, as long as I'm not hurting you, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Like you would."

He placed the small machine to her stomach and within a few moments, a small fetus appeared on the monitor across from her bed. She stared at it deeply, just like she had every single time she had seen it. It never got old. No matter how many times she stared at it, she couldn't help the surge of emotion that passed through her. That was _her_ baby. That was _their_ baby that they created. _Together_. She smiled and wiped at her eyes. Doctor Goldman said nothing, only handing her a tissue box.

"As you can see, we have some more distinct facial features. Fingers and toes look to be coming along nicely; heart rate is very good, and movement seems strong."

Claire dabbed at her eyes and nodded. "I can't wait to meet her."

The doctor smiled. "I don't think your boyfriend would have been happy to hear that."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm having a girl; I don't care what he says."

Doctor Goldman smiled. "Do you want to know the gender right now?"

Claire stared at the screen for another moment. Did she want to ruin the surprise? She and John had bickered endlessly about the gender of their child. He wanted a boy; no pink, no frills, no dollies, no sparkles. She herself wanted a girl; no frogs, toads, unnecessary injuries, or rowdiness.

Of course she knew it didn't really matter _really_ what it was; they would both love it to death. She hadn't even met the baby and she was already completely adored by it. At first, the idea of pregnancy was absolutely devastating. She knew she would have to give up her looks, her sanity, and her job (for a period of time) to have the child. She would have to deal with weight gain and massive mood swings; she would also have to deal with John.

Forever.

Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing; only at the time she was so pissed off at him for impregnating her that that little fact had indeed angered her. She wanted to kill him; she could never recall a time where she had felt _that_ homicidal. Then after a few days of endless sobbing in her room, she realized that she would have to suck it up and deal with it. That he was probably just as scared (he would never admit it) as she was, and that she would have to be mature and responsible.

Abortion or adoption were never an option. She knew that she was financially stable, and that she was with the man that she loved. As upset as she was at first, she knew that they could raise it together. She knew that they could provide it with a loving home and a wonderful – if not a little dysfunctional – family. She also had her parents, her brother, and her friends there to help her as well. As upset as she was, she wouldn't have changed the situation for the world.

She looked back at Dr. Goldman and shrugged, a smile stretched across her face. "Yeah maybe I would like to know. I just know it's a little girl."

He laughed. "You were never one with patience, my dear."

She narrowed her eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He turned back to the monitor quickly. "Well Miss Standish, you should be painting your nursery…"

* * *

Bender waited at the arrival area impatiently. He always hated the damn airport. There were so many people around him all crying and shouting and hugging; he almost always got bumped around, as if he wasn't even there. He wondered why airport assholes never watched where they were going. On this particular day, he almost wished that he had brought one of the others with him. He felt when he was in this sort of mood, that he was not a people person.

Sporto was damn lucky that he had agreed to this.

He sighed irritably as he watched another wave of passengers enter through the gates. He kept his eyes open for a head of blonde hair. He had no idea what Andrew would be wearing, or how we was sporting his style these days; not seeing someone for over a year did that to him.

A small body elbowed him in the stomach and he almost doubled over from the pain. He snuck his neck out to his left and looked behind him, only to see an old East Indian woman giving him the finger.

He could not believe the nerve of these damn air port people.

He growled and turned around, ready to stalk out the door when a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Where you going without me, jack ass?"

He rolled his eyes and punched Andrew in the arm. "You fucking prick. Never ask anything of me again."

Andrew quirked an eyebrow at him. "Are you mad because the little old lady beat you up?"

Bender straightened in challenge. "I'll go kick her ass right now."

Andrew snorted, "I'm sure you would. You're an even bigger pussy than last time I seen you. Remember when I kicked your ass outside that bar in Peoria?"

Bender clenched his fists at his sides and turned around as they headed towards the exit. "Man, you were the D.D. – I was completely smashed."

"You still had enough coherency to throw me over the railing."

Bender rolled his eyes. "And you still took advantage of an intoxicated male. What else is new?"

Andrew snorted and they proceeded out into the parking lot of the airport. Like usual, traffic was ridiculous, and it would take them at least a half an hour to get back into downtown Chicago. Bender sighed and unlocked the trunk of Claire's car so that Andy could deposit his bags inside. He unlocked his own door soon after and reached across the dash to unlock Andy's. He started the car and waited patiently for his friend to get inside.

After a few more moments Andy was inside the car and they were immobile while waiting in a long line of cars to get out into the freeway. He sighed and threw his hands into his lap, looking out the window at the cars ahead of him.

"So how have things been at home?" Andy asked quietly from beside him. The sound of his voice _almost_ made Bender jump.

He shrugged. "Fine. Dork came home last month so he and his woman have been hanging around. Ally is still hanging out with Eddie and Claire is moody."

Andy nodded. "How's Brian doing?"

Bender cocked an eyebrow and regarded him. "Dorky. Still letting his mom pick out his sweaters in the morning."

Andy snorted. "How's he really doing?"

Bender rolled his eyes and stepped on the gas pedal as they crept forward a few feet. "He's getting married."

Andy's eyes widened. "Wow. When did this happen?"

Bender regarded him quizzically, wondering just what the fuck Andy's conversations consisted of when he called home. "Seven months ago."

Andy didn't seem to be too phased by the answer, taking it completely in stride. This really made Bender irritated. "Wow. Well, that's good for him."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. He did some clichéd bullshit proposal in the Empire State building during their Thanksgiving break."

"Wow, way to go Brian." Andy murmured.

Bender gave him the eye as he began to creep forward some more. "Well I actually assumed that you would have known that by now."

Andy stared at him for a few moments before looking away. "No one ever mentioned it."

Bender snorted and muttered under his breath. "Like fuck…"

If Andy heard him, he said nothing about it. Bender noticed the difference in Andy's demeanor. Of course, they still swore at each other and had no problem trying to out wit one another, but he was definitely different. He was acting as if he thought everyone should make way for Mr. big shot university grad; that because he left, the world was going to stop for his reappearance. It irritated John.

He knew that Brian had wanted to get together and go drinking when Andy got back. He knew that Eddie and Jeff were interested in seeing and meeting –respectively – him. He knew that Claire was ecstatic that he was coming home. And Allison – well, fucking Allison was a whole other story.

He blared on the horn as the car in front of him delayed movement. "You fucking douche bag! Green is for go! Fucker…"

"Calm the hostility down, man. It's alright." Andy pointed out.

Bender glared at him. "Well maybe that whore should stop pumping her husband's cock up there, and get going."

"I forgot about driving with you." Andy muttered.

Bender – once again – glared at him. "When have you ever?"

Andy just blinked and turned his face back to the window. As he did so, something caught Bender's eye. "What the_ fuck_ is on your fucking neck?"

Andy's hand shot up to his neck and he pulled down the roof visor to check it out in the mirror. "Uh…looks like a bruise."

Bender watched the traffic ahead of him as it finally started moving at a constant pace. He looked back at Andy momentarily. "Is that what it is?"

Andy looked at him and pursed his lips together. "Yeah…I only got finished wrestling three days ago."

Bender cocked an eyebrow, and swung the wheel to the left as he took a sharp turn. "Is that so? Stuck in a strangle hold or something?"

Andy shrugged. "It's hard to say I guess." And with that, he turned his face immediately back towards his window and sat in silence.

Bender tried to control his breathing. He was getting pretty fucking mad. If that bruise was what he thought it was…he was pretty sure he didn't get it from wrestling in a match. Maybe from a game of tonsil hockey, but not a wrestling match. He let out a deep breath but bit his tongue; he wasn't going to start shit just yet. He hoped, for not only Andy's sake, that there really was a reasonable excuse.

He swung another tight left and sped down a side road directed towards the east side of the city. As the traffic was more scattered, he pressed down on the gas pedal and increased his speed.

"What's the rush?" Andy asked quietly.

John didn't bat an eye at him. "Gotta pick up Claire."

"You're happy, aren't you?" he asked.

Bender gave him a sideways glance. "Huh?"

"That you're having a kid…you're happy."

Bender just shrugged and looked back at the road. "Shut up."

* * *

Claire stood out on the busy side walk and wrapped her left arm around her torso. In her right hand, she held a tiny picture of her baby. She smiled and didn't move her eyes until she heard the sound of a car honking. She looked up and noticed John getting out of the car. He gave her an annoyed look and tossed the keys at her.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He pulled open the car door shrugged. "Sitting in the back."

One of her eyebrows rose slightly. "You don't have to do that."

He nodded towards the person in the passenger seat and huffed. "I want to."

She bit her lip and ran around the back side of the car towards him. She held out her right hand, and grabbed his wrist with her left. "Here, I brought you something." She deposited the picture into his hand and skipped off to the driver's side door and stepped in.

She looked across the dash at Andy, who was giving her a welcoming smile. She leaned over and pulled him into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you again!"

"You too, you look great." He gave her a sincere smile.

She smiled back. "Oh knock it off; I look like a sumo wrestler."

Andy rolled his eyes. "You haven't grown _that_ big yet."

She started up the car and looked behind her before she pulled out into the street. "So tell me, how was graduating university?"

He grinned. "Amazing. I loved every bit of it, but I am very happy to be home again." She heard a snort come from the back and she turned around and glared at John. She looked back at Andy. "Continue."

"Well I did a lot of skiing, and I had myself a good job out there for a few months. I was writing articles in the paper for lifestyle and fitness, so it was a good start, you know? It got me ready for my new job."

She nodded and smiled. "So are you excited? I mean, you're writing for the Sun, you got yourself a new apartment…you get to see _Allison_." She shot him a grin. "You're finally home with us!"

He gave her a smile and rubbed his hands through his much shorter blonde hair. "It's great, Claire. I've been waiting awhile to see you guys."

She snorted. "Yeah, only over a year. So much has changed since then."

"Yeah, I can tell." He turned in his seat and glared at John. She heard no noise emanate from the back seat, so she smiled at him.

"Well, obviously not much has changed."

Andy grinned and faced forwards once more, watching closely out the window as the Chicago scenery flew by. "So what is the plan?"

Claire glanced at him sideways and but her lip. "I'm heading back to work, and I have to drop off John…"

"And Allison?" Andy asked quietly, making the first mention of their friend since she got in the car.

She frowned. "She's working too. We all work during the day time. But you can sit at the apartment if you like, you know, to wait for her." She waved her hand for emphasis as she spoke.

Andy just shrugged. "Yeah I guess I can do that."

* * *

He pushed open the door to the empty apartment and looked around. He noticed that the dog was gone. That old stupid German shepherd that Bender had – Duke. He looked around the apartment, and surprisingly, it was pretty clean. Other times he had ventured back here there had been take out containers, alcohol bottles, and clothing strewn just about everywhere. His friends were great, but no one ever said that they were cleanly.

He removed his shoes and stepped in further, noting the absence of the rock posters that John and Allison had plastered everywhere just a year before. The whole place looked – _grown up_. It was neatly painted and dusted; simple paintings only hung from the wall now, obviously choices of the girls.

He walked forward down the hallway and approached the last door on the right side. She used to have this beautiful picture of a woman reaching through the clouds of heaven – one that she had painted herself – pinned onto her door. Now it was only a bare white color. He touched the door knob lightly with his fingers before he gently pushed the door open.

It smelled like her.

That was the first thing that he had noticed when he stepped inside. The clothes were now strewn on the floor, and the posters slung sloppily on the ceiling. Her never ending record collection piled high on top of her dresser, desk, and night stand. Her blankets and sheets were twisted into a puzzling mess on top of her bed, and she still had a ridiculous pile of pillows at the head of her bed.

He was glad that some things didn't change.

He stepped out of the room slowly and closed the door behind him. He hoped to god that she was going to be happy to see him. He missed her so badly that it hurt, and being in the apartment had only fueled that. He could smell her all over and just wanted to hold her. He wanted to put the past four years of not seeing one another behind him and pick up right where they left off.

He wanted to forget all about his 'deeds' and just be close to her again. They were such great friends and that was the best part of their relationship. He knew that the times were different now and that they were more mature now…but he didn't want those things to hold him back. He was here in Chicago to stay, and ready to start his future – which was miles ahead of him.

And he wanted to start that future in the right place – with her.

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, I hope you guys enjoyed that! A little tense for the most part, but people are just readjusting, right? Anyhow, big reunion next chapter, so leave me a review and tell me what you think. And to be fair, I won't slack on my updates, lol. I'm getting rather bad for that aren't I? Ha. Well I hope the chapter length made up for the wait. Anyhow, thanks for reading and until next time! 


	5. Just What I Needed

**Title**: Since You're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Andy and Allison are finally reunited  
**A/N**: So I see some people are just a little bit vicious about Andy…hmm, I wonder what caused that? You guys should be a little bit nice! I'm starting to feel bad for him! Anyhow, maybe this chapter might help a little. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Just What I Needed**

* * *

Allison stared down at the paperwork in front of her and sighed; she always got stuck with so much on Tuesdays. Tuesday was the day that they received their orders, so she got stuck doing all of the inventory count sheets. Of course, she knew that was to be expected when she took on the job position, which left dear old Eddie to his finances, but she needed the extra cash. 

She stared at the pile of Michael Jackson albums with a distinct mask of disgust. He creeped her out immensely; she thought he had funny clothes, ratty hair, and a weird voice. For some reason or another though, people bought his albums, which in turn, brought money into their little store. She sighed and brought them over to the 'best sellers' shelf.

"Allison!" She heard a masculine voice call from the back.

"Yeah?" She replied. She stayed bent over her pile of boxes as she waited for his response.

Eddie poked his head out from the back room. "You can flip the sign now if you want to. I want to get out of here."

She smiled at him gratefully and rushed towards the door. She flicked the deadbolt in the door, and turned the 'open' sign so that it now read 'closed'. She loved it when Eddie read her mind. She turned around and looked at the back room. "Ed?"

He spun around and looked at her, his long dread locks following the sudden flow of movement. "Yeah?"

"Can we listen to the Smiths?" She asked with a grin on her face.

He rolled his eyes. "Again? Hon, I think you are obsessed."

She shrugged. "They make me feel better."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and stepped through the door frame, leaving both arms on either side of it. "You need your man back. You're going crazy."

She smirked. "I already was crazy."

He gave her a grin and nodded. "Touché." He spun back around and headed towards the store's stereo system. Within a few moments, the album 'The Queen Is Dead' was blaring through the store's ceiling speakers. She grinned to herself knowing that even though Eddie hated them, he put them on for her.

"Thank you!" She yelled over her shoulder as she began organizing the piles alphabetically. Eddie was much more of a Doors and Led Zeppelin type person; he was that ever strange combination of a hippie punk. He was probably the most unique, yet odd person she had ever met. She could easily agree that that was the reason they had become such easy friends.

She continued adding out the last few CD's, and brought the empty box to the back. Eddie was hunched over his desk and writing at a fierce pace; so fast that his normally neat hand printing looked like chicken scratch. Allison crossed her arms over her chest and watched him momentarily. It wasn't until he turned around that he acknowledged her presence. "Do you need anything?"

She shrugged. "No, I'm just procrastinating."

He snorted. "What do you have left to do?"

"I just have to finish with the rest of the Epic albums…recording that is. Stock is finished." She gave him a smug grin.

He nodded his head. "Just tidy up and we can go, okay?" He didn't even wait for a reply; he only spun around in his chair and began scribbling again. Allison found this behavior awkward for him.

"What's your rush?"

He didn't glance up at her. "I have plans."

Her eyebrow rose. "What are you doing?"

Once again, he didn't look up. "I'm going to Roscoe's."

Allison perked an eyebrow up at that; Roscoe's was one of Chicago's biggest gay bars. It wasn't a place that Eddie's partner, Michael, liked to frequent. In fact, Michael was very straight laced and didn't like Eddie doing much of anything, namely hanging out with Allison and her room mates. Michael seemed to have Eddie wrapped around his finger – mainly because Eddie would do anything for him to keep him happy – so it surprised her nonetheless that Eddie proclaimed to be going out. "Why are you going there? I thought Michael didn't…"

"Let's not talk about _him_," Eddie snapped a little too quickly.

Allison sighed. "Okay, sorry. Is there anything that you _do_ want to talk about?"

He stopped writing momentarily. "No, you don't have to worry about anything, hon. I'm going to go out tonight and get my mind off of things, and you are going to go home and get ready to see your man in a few days."

Allison smiled at the reminder. "If you need me you can call you know."

He finally looked up at her and smiled. "I know that. Go finish tidying, and I'll let you outta here, okay?"

She smiled at him and nodded, and proceeded to make her way towards the front of the store. She grabbed all of the loose papers from the counter and placed them into a filing folder underneath the cash register. She then collected two armfuls of bubble wrap and cardboard boxes and proceeded to take them out to the dumpsters behind the shop.

Outside, the sun was completely hidden by the dark clouds that stretched over the sky. Even though it was May, the air was cool and the wind whipped so hard that her hair was flopping into her face uncontrollably. It was miserable out. She walked the ten feet from the back door to the dumpster and deposited the garbage inside. After doing that, she quickly ran back inside with her arms wrapped around herself.

The door slammed loudly behind her, which made Eddie jump a couple of inches from his chair. He threw a hand over his chest and glared at her. "Did you have to do that?"

She shrugged. "Sorry, I was cold."

He perked an eyebrow at her and stood from his desk. "What does being cold have to do with not slamming the door?" He grabbed the day's deposit and put into its case, and began to make his way towards the front of the store. Allison slowly followed behind him.

"I'm not too sure, but I was cold." She gave him a smirk as he rolled his eyes.

He grabbed his keys from his pocket and held the front door open for her. "You sure are a strange one sometimes."

She smiled at him gratefully. "And you are as well. I say that would make us a good team."

He smiled and pinched her cheek. "You know it's the truth."

She stood out on the busy sidewalk and watched him. He seemed different today; Eddie was usually so upbeat and flamboyant. They would play all sorts of goofy games and records in the store to pass their time; they would laugh all day, and the customers got a big kick out of them. Today, however, Eddie was very quiet and reserved. It almost seemed as if anything playful was forced. She had a pretty good feeling that this sudden Michael problem had something to do with it.

"So, are you sure you'll be okay tonight?" She asked him quietly.

He only gestured to his car and nodded. "I'll be fine, I promise."

She pulled open the passenger side door and sighed. "You know if you need a place to stay, or somewhere to go…"

He raised an amused eyebrow at her. "I would _not_ go to your place." His green eyes finally lit up and he cracked a smile. "Do you honestly think I would want to stay with pregnant Claire, crazy Bender, and you when your man gets home? That's way too much excitement for my liking."

Allison laughed at him as they pulled away from the curb and out into the street. "Okay, okay, it was just a suggestion. Next time I will direct you away from the human circus." She watched him. He had one hand on the wheel, and another twirling a black dread lock between his fingers. He looked really nervous for some reason. "What did he do?"

He cocked a pierced eyebrow at her and frowned. "He threw me out, okay?"

Allison winced. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Whatever. I've been putting up with his shit for long enough now. It's probably better for us both." He kept his eyes on the road, but she could easily see the sadness in them.

She looked out her window as they turned down her street. "Well in that case, I hope you have a good time tonight…and that you bring home someone ten times better looking."

He pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the complex and winked at her. "That won't be too hard, my dear."

Allison snorted at him and opened up her door. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He shrugged. "Bright and early."

She rolled her eyes and closed the door. She sighed and looked up at her apartment window. She knew that Claire and John had a dinner date tonight – although she was unsure why they just decided to spontaneously go out – so that left her alone for the next few hours. She opened up the door of the main foyer, and made her way towards the elevator.

It was days like that when she had wished that Andy was still around. Claire and John would go out together and spend a lot of alone time with each other. It wasn't that she didn't want them to, or that she thought that they shouldn't, it was just that she wished she had someone to come home to so that she wouldn't feel so alone all the time.

When she first decided to move in with Claire, it was that little fact – not being lonely – that appealed to her most. Andy had left for university and Claire was starting college, which left her with John and Brian in high school. John had eventually dropped out to go work at the garage full time to support his own apartment, and Brian was so busy with his grades that he didn't have much time for socialization. Once again, Allison had found herself spending her time alone and drawing. It was when Claire finally got her act together that Allison moved in with her.

When it was just the two of them, they had spent a lot of time together. Mostly talking, but they did do all of their shopping together too. Claire would drive her to work in the morning on the way to school, and then they would meet each other at home later to make supper together. They became very good friends during that time.

When John moved in, Allison had no complaints. She had always been good friends with him and could almost always tolerate him at the least. It was Claire who seemed to get uncomfortable and irritable around him. That was during the months and months of them fighting and him getting thrown out. Allison had to choose sides a lot, but either way she always had someone around to occupy her time.

Now that the years had slipped by, and contact with Andy had been minimum, Claire and John eventually got the hang of tolerating each other every day. It was then that Allison began to feel like a major third wheel. There were times that she was almost close to just going out to a bar or something to go find new friends. With Brian, Michelle, and Andy gone, it only really left her with Claire, John, and Eddie.

Eddie was great to talk to, and he seemed to understand her better than most of her friends did. The only problem with Eddie was that the only time she really got to talk to him was at work. Michael had always been on his case about hanging around with the younger group, mainly because they liked to 'party' and get 'rowdy'. Now with Michael out of the picture, instead of seeing Eddie more, he seemed to be in a total slump.

She knew it was getting better though. Brian and Michelle were home for the summer, and Andy was going to be home any day. Maybe she had just been in some funny mood again? Whatever the case was, she had a good feeling that things were going to be perking up.

She stepped out of the elevator and made her way towards the end of the hall. They had the last apartment on the sixth floor – number 13. She pulled out her keys and slipped them into the knob and pushed the door open. The entire apartment was enveloped in darkness.

She sighed and flung her keys on the counter. She figured the first thing she needed was a nice hot shower, and then she would probably just sit in her room the rest of the night, put on one of her millions of records, and read a book. She had a few new ones that she had yet to pick up.

She walked down the hall and turned into the first door on the right. She shut the door behind her and turned the nozzles on in the tub, quickly filling the room with a thick sheet of steam. She stood in front of the mirror and took in her image. She sure had lost quite a bit of weight over the last few months. She was never a big girl; she only stood five feet four inches, and for all her life never weighed over 120 pounds. She shook her head and quickly undressed and stepped into the shower.

When she finished, she didn't bother to redress. She only wrapped a large green towel around herself, and shook the water out of her hair. She gathered her clothing from the floor and pulled open the bathroom door. She instantly felt a large gush of cold wind, and it sent a shiver up her spine.

When she pulled open her bedroom door she screamed.

"Holy shit you fucking scared the hell out of me!" She had thrown her clothes to the ground and was clutching her towel against her body.

He smiled at her. "Well it's nice to see you too."

She only stood there for a few moments staring at him; he was really there, in the flesh.

His hair was a little longer than she remembered, and he styled it differently. His body seemed to be a lot more toned as well, as if he had been getting a lot of exercise. She remembered him mentioning something about skiing and snowboarding on top of his wrestling, so that was probably where he had gotten that.

He didn't look so preppy anymore either; he had on a pair of stonewash jeans with a black hard rock café shirt. He looked as though he had been there awhile; he was laying on her bed and his coat and shoes were off.

She finally smiled at him and dove over the bed and into his arms. She didn't kiss him, she only held on to him for dear life. She hadn't smelt or felt him for over a year. She had been waiting for that moment for months.

"You okay there?" he laughed underneath of her. She could feel the vibration from his chest. She lifted her head and looked at him.

"I missed you."

He smiled at her. "I missed you too." He pushed her wet hair behind her ears and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"How long have you been here?" She asked him with curiosity.

He shrugged. "Oh, since about eleven o'clock this morning."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "All by yourself? I would have come home early if I knew! You should have come and got…"

He brought a finger to her lips and smiled. "I wanted to surprise you, okay?" She smiled at him and he kissed her once more. "And you're here now, right?"

She nodded and dipped her lips down to meet his. Instantly the kisses became intense and quick. It happened every time they saw each other for the first time; they never wasted any time. He rolled over on top of her, never breaking his hold. In one swift motion he pulled the towel from her body and smiled at her.

"Always making things easy for me, aren't you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up." And he did, their lips met again, only breaking so that he could remove his shirt.

She smiled at him. "I love you."

He paused for a moment, almost as if he were searching for something in her eyes. He finally smiled back and wiped a strand of hair from her forehead. "I love you too. I always have."

She gave him a strange look and shook her head. "Cheesy…" he rolled his eyes and began to kiss her once more.

She thought spending the rest of night exploring him once more would be a good idea. For the first time in over a year she felt completely whole and happy again. She wanted to show him just how much he meant to her, and just how much she missed him.

Besides, she had a lot of pent up frustrations to get out, and she was sure he did too.

_**TBC**_

* * *

**A/N**: Hey all! So that wasn't much…but hey! This fic is only rated T. lol. I'm sure you can fill yourselves in with the rest. So they have met again, and things are only beginning. So I hope you enjoyed that. Also, I have a new fic started called 'Renegade'. You can find it on the main page if you change the filter ratings to 'all' because it is rated M. So if you're interested in reading a Bender fic, you can give it a go. So thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! 


	6. Corazon de Oro

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality.  
**Chapter Summary**: This one will feature both Andy and Allison, and Brian and Michelle. Things get a bit hot…I love writing about sexy guys!

**A/N**: I just want to tell everyone I bought a new computer chair. It is comfortable and makes me happy to write; therefore, you get a new chapter!

* * *

**IF YOU LOOK HERE BENDER HAS HIS PANTS DOWN!!!!!!!** Ha! I bet that got your attention! ;) Anyways, visit the breakfast club forums. There are a lot of cool conversations, opinions, and crazy games! Come and meet all of the crazy breakfast club freaks! Lots of fun there! 

And now without further ado, chapter 6!

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**Chapter 6 – Corazon de Oro**

* * *

Brian stared at his mother angrily as he chewed his food. She had been gabbing on and on to Michelle throughout the night about how she should plan their wedding, and she hadn't been too kind about it either. She had gone as far as saying 'I don't think a white dress is appropriate for you'. 

To say he was completely livid would be an understatement.

He took another bite of his roast and looked across the table at his father; he looked as embarrassed as Brian felt. His eyes were down into his plate and he was chewing his food at a sickeningly slow rate.

"Really I think that you guys should just settle with roses; they are the most romantic and beautiful flower, you know." Brian's mothered spoke as if she were the smartest woman in the world. It seemed as though she thought there was no other option except her own ideas. Brian swallowed his food and frowned.

"Well we were thinking about different types of irises and lilies…"

Diane Johnson rolled her eyes. "Brian don't be stupid. Those are used at funerals and neither of you are dead." Brian put his fork down and folded his hands.

"Mother, I know that, but those are what we like and that is more important than some stupid tradition."

"But what will all your aunts and uncles say?" She gave him a pointed look and took a small sip of her milk. "Your grandmother would have a conniption."

Michelle looked at him and bit her lip. He could tell she was getting a bit flustered. Every time that they got together with either of their parents they always seemed to have these problems. Of course, Brian was absolutely positive that his parents were the worst of the two, while Michelle felt the same about her own mother. They were never happy either way.

"Mom, grandma has Alzheimer's. She probably won't even notice." Brian rolled his eyes impatiently and took another forkful of peas.

Diane set her fork down angrily. "Don't speak that way about your grandmother! Of course she would notice such a big thing! This is your wedding, dear; it will be the biggest day of your life. There is no need to screw it up with something silly like flowers."

Michelle cleared her throat. "Diane, I only decided on the lilies because of my father. He used to bring them to my mother and me all of the time before he died. It is just something special I want to do in his honor." (1) Brian reached his hand underneath of the table to grasp hers. He shot her a small smile.

Diane pursed her lips together. "That's sweet honey, but are you sure you are making the right decision? This is a wedding…" Brian set his jaw.

"Yes mother! We are sure! They are flowers, and she is the bride. If she wants them to be irises, lilies, or fucking dandelions then she will get them!"

"Brian Ralph!" His father, Ralph, almost screeched at his son for his tone of voice. Brian rolled his eyes, and his younger sister, Mary snickered at him.

"Way to swear at mom!" The thirteen year old smiled in spite of herself. Brian knew that she had grown out of the ass-kissing phase and was now actually congratulating him. To say that his younger sister and his mother got along on a regular basis would be a tad false.

His mother only stared at him with wide eyes. "You wouldn't dare put dandelions in that bouquet!"

Brian rolled his eyes. "I'm starting to wonder if maybe poison ivy would be better…"

Michelle giggled in spite of herself and took a long sip of juice. She took one more glance at Diane and sighed. "You won't be disappointed, I promise. We have a bit of a color theme going on, and we don't want to clash."

Diane gave her a pointed look before excusing herself from the table. "This is the eighties dear, you can't clash!" Without another word she spun on her heel and walked out of the dining room. Mary cocked an eyebrow at Michelle, who in turn could only laugh.

"Did she _just_ say that?" Mary asked, looking almost embarrassed that she knew the woman.

Brian snorted and rolled his eyes at the blonde haired girl. "Unfortunately, yes. She did say that. She can keep saying that all she wants, but she isn't going to change my mind."

Ralph only gave his son a stern look before he too left the dining room to go clear off his dishes in the kitchen. Michelle started giggling madly again.

"I don't know what type of drugs she is on; the eighties are way more fashionable than when she grew up. Did you see the things they wore in the sixties? They wore poofy skirts and ponchos…even socks with sandals!" Mary ranted on and on about how uncool her mother was; however nothing she said made Brian feel any better.

Michelle smiled at him and put a manicured hand in his. "Don't get so upset. I'm sure she is just anxious for you, that's all."

"I'm so sorry, Mic. She's just so overbearing. I'm sorry if she insulted you…" He rambled on and on, his old habit creeping back out.

Michelle only rolled her eyes at him and placed her utensils down on her empty plate. "I told you, its fine. Don't worry about her so much. My mother is worse." Brian wanted to protest that fact immediately; Michelle's mom was nothing compared to his own mother. She continued. "They are going to want to plan everything and tell us what to do, but this is our wedding. Nothing is going to get in the way." She gave him a soft smile and his heart melted for her all over again.

"I know that. It will be great." He gave her a happier smile and the two medical students left the kitchen to retreat back to Brian's old bedroom. Once they reached the door, they locked it behind them.

Brian sat on the edge of his bed and sighed. She gave him a smile and sat down beside him. "Guess what?" She asked.

He perked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Andy came back this morning."

Brian sat up a bit straighter. "What? I thought he wasn't coming for another while. How do you know…should we go see him?"

Michelle laughed. "I was sworn to secrecy. And no, I don't believe we should go see him because he is probably very…busy." She folded her arms and gave him a knowing look.

"Claire?" He asked. He shook his head and laughed. "That girl cannot keep her mouth shut." She gave him a playful shove, but he didn't move an inch.

"That's my best friend you are talking about, Mr. Johnson!" She leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder. He only smiled and ran his fingers down her long, soft hair. He could smell her perfume from the crook of her neck and it made him shiver.

"What are you going to do about it?" He asked her playfully. She lifted her head slowly – but not pulling back an inch – and stared him in the eye.

"Anything you want." He could feel her hot breath on his own lips. Her voice dripped with seduction and his breathing was increasing. He ran his hand down a strand of auburn hair; her green eyes shimmered with longing and lust.

"Well, I think I have an idea." He leaned in and caught her in a hungry kiss.

* * *

"When was the last time I told you how amazing you were?" Andy fell back on his back breathing rapidly. It was now three thirty in the morning and his body ached. A thin layer of sweat coated his entire body. Both he and Allison laid naked and tangled in a mess of bed sheets. The only thing illuminating the room was the moonlight from her bedroom window, which was above the head of the bed. 

She snorted. "Where the hell did all my pillows go?" She perched herself up with her elbow and looked around. He looked over the side of the bed and grabbed a handful of them.

"They're all on the floor." He laughed. He supposed that they had knocked them all off of her bed. She too leaned over her side of the bed and gathered a few from the floor. She stopped and looked around.

"My bedroom is messy. Look what you did!" She accused playfully. He perked an eyebrow up at her and threw a pillow at her face.

"It was a pig sty when I got here, missy!" He took a hard pillow to his face and he grabbed it. "I'm serious! I thought you were messy when you were seventeen, but damn. Here you are at twenty one and even worse!"

She let out a loud snort and threw the blankets over herself. Her hair was much longer than the last time he had seen it; now it was a few inches longer than her shoulders, and, with the exception of her bangs, was all the same length. She looked gorgeous. Her hair was wet and fanned out across her pillows. Her skin was as soft and smooth as he always remembered – and dreamed – of it being. She still smelled the same, and she still had all of that passion that he loved so much about her.

He had never been happier to have someone is his arms.

She turned to face him again; the moonlight played off of her features giving her skin a pale blue look. "You can tell me how amazing I am now."

His eyebrows rose. "Well, maybe only a little. It _has_ been awhile." He grinned at her and she smiled.

"So, how great am I?" She had a semi-serious look on her face.

He scoffed playfully. "Well I think someone has developed a bit of an ego! Wow, I don't even know what to say!" She tossed another pillow at him, making it fall on the floor once again. He laughed at her, and then grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest. He could feel his heart pounding against it.

She gave him a playful pinch. "I wouldn't say that. I would say hungry for some attention maybe." She smiled at him and leaned over to kiss him once more. "You don't even know how much I missed you."

He rubbed a finger down the side of her face to her neck. "Believe me, I do. I'm sure you found _something_ to do while I was gone though."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Nope, not really. Just hung around the old group, that's all. That and lots of Jeopardy. I shoulda tried out and won some money."

He snorted at her response and kissed the top of her head. "I always did tell you that you were smart, you know. Like all those times you were _supposed_ to go to college! Remember that?"

She laughed at him. "Oh shut up. I know I was _supposed_ to go. I'm still working on it. I don't even know what I want to do anymore. There are way too many things for me to choose from. Besides, I don't want to be taking off so soon after I got you back." She gave him a sweet smile and then drew circles on his chest with her finger.

He laughed at her and drew his own circles on her back. "Hey I'm not rushing you, I was only playing. The last thing I want is to see you go. I like this. I forgot how much I did." He looked down at her and waited for her response. She looked up and met his gaze; her dark brown eyes locked with his dashing blue ones.

She gave him a lopsided smile. "I know." She lifted a hand to touch his face; she traced the outline of his jaw, and then moved up his chin, over his lips, and then up to the bridge of his nose. She seemed to be almost making sure that he was the real thing. He just adored that look of pure happiness in her eyes. "I missed you too."

He smiled at her response. "God, I almost feel like I don't even know what to say…there's so much to talk about."

She wrapped the blanket around her chest and sat up against the headboard. She gave him another charming smile, and entwined her hand with his. "Well, I got you an apartment set up. It's beautiful." She explained to him excitedly.

His eyebrows rose. "Yeah? Did you get me a roommate too?"

A blush rose up to her cheeks that was so red it was noticeable in the dark. "Andy…"

He rolled his eyes at her and squeezed her hand. "I wasn't being serious, okay? I mean…if you ever did wanna…I wouldn't mind, you know, whenever you were ready."

She looked serious for only a moment longer before she burst out laughing. That made Andy frown; he hoped that he hadn't scared her. Of course, they had been dating for four years so he didn't see any problem with moving in together. However, he also understood that it had been almost that entire time that they were apart. Maybe she only wanted some catching up to do? Him, well, he didn't want to waste any more time…

"You sounded so much like Brian when you said that!" She was still laughing. Because he sounded like Brian. He didn't know whether or not to laugh with her or cry because she had said that.

"Very funny," he mumbled. He folded his arms over his chest in mock hurt. He was lying naked in bed with his girlfriend and she was laughing at him. That was something every mad dreaded.

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?" She pouted out a lip at him. When he tried to ignore her, she threw a leg over his lap and straddled his waist. It was beginning to get a bit hot in the room.

"No," Andy mumbled stubbornly. She dropped the blanket from around her body and leaned in.

"Are you sure? I can always make you feel better, you know…_Sporto_." She gave him a devilish grin that made him sweat. He could feel her body heat radiating onto him and it made him squirm.

"Is that so?" He choked out. She nodded and arched her back, so that she had her chest pressed against his.

"I know so." She licked her lips, and that was all it took for him to crash his mouth into hers once more. It was their third round since she returned home from work. They had immediately gone at it when she showed up in her towel. Then after some fooling around in the shower, they had a romantic dinner together. Once more, they made their way to the bedroom afterwards.

They had been busy all night.

He returned his thoughts to her and opened his eyes. She was making trails down his neck with her lips and tongue. She stopped suddenly when she got to his chest, and gave him a gentle bite on the nipple. He squirmed under her. "Allison!" He laughed.

She cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

He shook his head at her. "You're crazy…"

She smiled. "Aw, you _remembered_!" She let out a maniacal laugh and continued down further. His heart rate sped up, and as soon as she hit the spot, he let out a loud moan.

* * *

"Dude, I'm gonna fucken' go in there and neuter him!" Bender threw a pillow over his ear and growled. He had almost – _almost_ – been asleep that time. 

Claire sighed from next to him. "If you don't stop complaining, _I_ am going to neuter _you_!" He knew that she was frustrated with him, but he couldn't help himself! Those two had been going at it for hours.

"I already am…" He muttered under his breath. Unfortunately for him, she heard. She sat up quickly and hit him – hard – with her pillow.

"Excuse me? Did you just say what I thought you said?" She was staring at him wide eyed and angry as hell. He kept half his face hidden under his pillow, and peered out from underneath the corner.

"I don't know, how well do your ears work?" He tried to sound as innocent as possible, but figured that he had failed miserably. He almost always sounded like a pompous ass.

She glared at him, and then assaulted him even more with her pillow. "What would you do if I left for four years and then came back? I'm sure you would want to do _that_ too!"

John widened his eyes. "Well _I_ most certainly would have introduced _you_ to my hooker."

She gave him a stern look before lying down again. "You are such a pig." He finally removed the pillow from his head and looked at her.

"Well you're with me, what do you suppose that says about you?" He perched himself up on his elbows. Another loud noise was heard from the room across the hall, and he cringed.

She turned over so that her back was facing him. "I guess that says that I am stuck now."

John snorted and threw and arm around her waist as he lay down as well. "No one is forcing you here!" He proclaimed overdramatically.

"Only my baby. Now shut up and go sleep." She snuggled closer to her pillow.

He glared at the back of her head. "I would if it didn't sound like a fucking Ginger Lynn movie in there."

"Will you please shut up?"

"Well maybe you can shut me up…maybe _I want_ _some_ too!" He complained in her ear and brought her closer to him.

"That neutering is sounding so good right about now!"

* * *

(1) – For more details about Michelle's physical appearance and family life, check out chapters 14 (physical) and 25 (family) of 'The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case', or you can also check out the OC catalogue in the TBC fanfic forum. 

**A/N**: Hahaha! Only Claire and John! Anyhow, mostly filler, but was fun. Go check out my other two stories, "Renegade" and "The Great Psychological Escape". They're up now! And while you're at it read this story too. Oh yeah? You already did? HA! Well silly me! Then just go down there and press that button and tell me what you thought about it! Thanks for reading!


	7. Reunion

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Allison has a chat with Bender; Brian brings everyone out to celebrate being together again.  
**A/N**: Thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy! Sorry for the delay, I had a few technical difficulties if you didn't already know.

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Reunion**

* * *

Allison quietly tip toed out of her room. She had not even gone to sleep the previous night. She knew that it was still early – well in _their house_ ten thirty was early – so she had to be quiet not to wake the others up. She dashed down the hall and into the kitchen to make herself some much needed coffee. 

For someone who hadn't gone to bed she sure did have a lot of energy.

As she looked for her favorite mug – big, black with Kermit the frog on it – she sang the words to Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer'. Usually she wasn't a fan of such yuppyness, but she had it stuck in her head, and frankly, she was wired. She located her cup and took it out of the cupboard, quietly closing the door behind her. She grabbed a box of coffee filters and the ground coffee itself, and proceeded to prepare the coffee maker for her caffeine fix.

She pulled herself up on the counter and continued to sing. She was horribly off beat – and she knew it – but no one was up to hear her. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about the previous night. She had never felt more alive and happy in her life. She had the love of her life back in her arms, and she damn well showed him that he was missed. She had a feeling in her heart that things were ready to look up from that point.

She kicked her heels against the counter, and hit a horribly high pitched note. It was then that she noticed the laughing. She scrunched up her face and looked around the corner of the kitchen wall and noticed a heap of blankets jiggling on the couch.

She ran full force at the couch and jumped on it; a loud 'oomph!' sounded from the pile. She pulled the blankets up to reveal a smiling John. She smacked him on the head and folded her arms. "You were laughing at me."

He gave her an incredulous look. "If you heard yourself you would laugh too!"

She feigned a look of mock hurt and folded her arms. "What are you doing out here so early anyways? Wait a second…why aren't you at work?"

He perked an eyebrow at her. "I called in, so did Claire. We didn't get any sleep last night." He shot her a glare and pulled blankets back up over his head. She, however, was still sitting on top of his back and pulled them back down. She gave him a devilish smile.

"Why weren't you sleeping last night? Were you gettin' busy?" She gave him a smug look and folded her arms.

He yanked his blankets away from her clutched hands and snorted. "Yeah, I wish. It sounded like your bedroom walls were going to fall down."

Allison let out a loud "Ha!" and smiled. "Oh, it sucks, doesn't it? Listening to every single moan, and curse, and rocking headboard! Now you know how I feel!" He only responded with a snort. She frowned. "Why are you on the couch anyways?"

"It was either stay in bed and get neutered, or sleep on the couch. I like my balls, thank you."

"That's disgusting. I never want to hear about your testicles again."

John snorted and threw his pillow over his head. "Get off of me. I need more sleep."

She furrowed her eyebrows and lay down beside him. "What if I didn't, then what? Come on, I'll make you some coffee!" She offered him. She heard him growl from under the covers. She loved how cranky he got in the morning. "Do you remember that one time we got totally wasted and you woke up and my step-brothers had tied knots in your hair?"

He groaned. "I fucking hate those kids."

She laughed. "I know me too. He actually ran around and tripped right over you. What did you say to them after that?"

He chuckled from under his pillow. "I think I called them freaky little midget asses or something."

Allison burst out laughing. "Yeah that was it! Then he chucked a block at your head!" She laughed so hard that she had to hold her stomach. He pushed her off of the couch so that she landed hard on the floor. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "You actually fell down!"

"Fuck off and let me sleep, will ya?" He rolled over so that he was facing the back of the couch. She only kept laughing at him.

"Oh come on! Don't be like that!" She got up on her knees and picked up a few strands of his hair and quickly tied them into a messy knot. He grabbed the back of his head and then shot up from the couch.

"You little freak!" He yelled at her. She could tell that he was going to start laughing, but he was trying his hardest to keep his tough guy face on. She smiled at him.

"I think you're turning soft, John. If you were eighteen you would have kicked me in the face." She gave him a devilish smile and stole his spot on the sofa.

He put his hands on his thighs and glared. "I have never kicked you in the face."

She perked an eyebrow. "I can recall _many_ times that you kicked me in the face."

"Was I sleeping?" He walked into the kitchen and she could hear him digging through the coffee mugs. She snorted.

"Does that really matter? You still did it." She folded her arms over her chest in an act of stubbornness. He poked his head out from around the corner and glared at her.

"Just like the time you nailed your shrink?" She heard him laugh at his own comeback from kitchen. She shook her head at him.

"Shut up!" She growled as he continued to laugh. He came around the corner with two mugs in his hands and gave one to her. He sat down on the sofa next to her, and they both propped their feet up on the coffee table. They sat in a comfortable silence just listening to the street people hollering outside.

She turned to him. "You knew, didn't you?"

He turned to face her. "What are you babbling about?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You knew that Andrew was here, that's why you guys took off all evening." She watched his face for any give-aways; the two had been close enough over the last four and a half years that she could usually read him. This time, his eyes had that familiar glint in them, but the rest of his face gave no hints.

"What does it matter, the jock strap is home." She smacked him hard on the arm, but he acted like it had no affect on him whatsoever.

"You were so in on it! Aw, John!" She pretended to gush over his 'sweetness' and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled off of her.

"Come on now, there is plenty of me to go around, but it is way too early for that love shit." She laughed at that.

"Oh, are you getting to that age where you have physical limitations?" He glared at her as she gave him a smug grin.

"Nah, I could go for days on end if I wanted. I never get tired."

"And you have an endless supply of hornyness. I know we've had this conversation before…sickly enough." She shook her head and contorted her face at the thought. He snorted at that and took a drink from his mug. She watched him. "Thanks though."

He stared at her for a few minutes. "No problem. Just promise me one thing though…"

He looked dead serious; it was a look that he didn't give her often, but when he did, she knew to listen. "Anything…"

He let out a deep breath. "Just keep an eye on _him_…" He didn't have a chance to finish. She opened up her mouth to reply, but thought better when she heard approaching footsteps. She turned her head towards the hallway and noticed Andy standing there with only a pair of jeans on and a messy head of hair. She smiled at how sexy he looked.

"Hey there, stranger." Any lingering thoughts about what Bender had said to her had flown out the window, and she stood to greet him with a hug.

"Hey, yourself." He replied, leaning down to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

She heard the television turn on behind her; John hated being an audience. She turned back to Andy. "Would you like me to make you something to eat?"

He shrugged and nodded. "Yeah sure, that would be great." She smiled at him and turned around to go to the kitchen. When she walked by the couch, she was kicked. She _knew_ that John was a kicker and he always acted otherwise! He was such a liar. "What?" She asked.

John looked up at her. "I like my eggs over easy." She glared at him.

"I know that."

"Okay, well just so we're on the same page here." He took another long drink from his mug and went back to watching the television. She looked back at Andy who only shrugged and joined him on the couch. She shook her head and started towards the kitchen.

"You still have that knot in your hair you know!"

"Fuck!"

* * *

Claire looked at her reflection in the mirror; her cute little black dress that she loved to wear out was looking a little too smug. She frowned at her appearance and turned to view her side. Her breasts were practically falling out of the dress and her protruding stomach was visible through the thin fabric. She sighed. "I guess all good things must come to an end." 

A small knock sounded from the door and her head shot up. "Come in!"

A mess of crimped auburn hair poked its way through a crack in the door, and soon Michelle's face was visible. She had a mesh scrunchie on top of her head, and her make up was all done. She wore a black blouse, with jelly bracelets on her arms, and topped it off with a leather mini-skirt. She was all ready to leave.

"Are you still getting ready?" She asked with a grin. Not only was she ready, Claire noted that she was impatient as well.

"I don't have anything nice to wear! This is my best dress and it doesn't fit anymore!" Claire sat down on the bed in a huff.

Michelle could only grin at her friend. "Claire, we're not going out to a formal restaurant or anything! We're just going to a fun bar to dance. Just find something that does fit and let's go." Michelle sat on the bed next to the red head and gave her a pouty face.

Claire threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine." She strode over to her closet and began looking for something else to wear. Her friends were constantly telling her that she could tone down the fashion to go out with them, but she just had to make sure she looked good. It was old habit that she couldn't kick.

She picked up a denim knee length skirt and a pastel purple sweater that had a wide neck line. She held them up in pain view for Michelle to see, in which she got approval for. She slipped off the black dress and began to change.

"Brian hasn't shut up about Andy since he found out he was home. I think it was such a good idea for us to all get together again and go out. It's been so long since we've seen him." Michelle leaned back on the bed.

Claire smiled. "Yeah it's great. It's good to see Allison happy again too. I have to wonder what their plans are though."

Michelle blinked. "What do you mean?"

Claire shrugged and pulled her sweater on. "Well, we're twenty two years old now. I'm having a baby in four months, and Andy has his own place…"

Michelle cocked an eyebrow. "You want her to move out?"

Claire shot her an incredulous look. "No, nothing like that; I would love for her to stay and know the baby. That doesn't mean that she isn't thinking of leaving. Now that's he's back...everything could change. That's all."

Michelle smiled. "I got the same kind of hint from John."

Claire frowned. "He has been acting strange around Andy. I think there is something going on that we don't know about. I mean, they were never _great_ friends before, but they are just side stepping each other a little too much." She looked herself over in the mirror and smiled at her appearance.

Michelle rested her chin in her hand. "That is very true. Maybe we should do some detective work…"

Claire smiled devilishly. "We could!" She picked up her purse from the floor next to her dresser and slung it over her shoulder. "I just hope that it isn't anything bad."

Michelle nodded. "Yeah, me too. We should probably get going though; they'll start wondering what we're doing in here." Claire nodded in response and held her bedroom door open for her oldest friend.

"Just don't let anyone know about it, okay?" Michelle side stepped her and stopped to look at her when she reached the hallway.

"My lips are sealed."

* * *

Andy opened the door for the group and they led the way into one of Chicago's infamous new wave clubs. When it came to the clubs for them to choose from, they had the best luck with music based bars. Chicago was widely known for not only its jazz, blues, and soul, but also their punk, industrial, and new wave scenes. They had frequented the punk clubs a lot when they were teens due to Bender's various bands. They had also been known to frequent the jazz bars as well when they wanted a more mellow setting. Tonight however, they let Allison choose where she wanted to go – and that was a small, dimly lit new wave bar. There were smoke clouds bellowing across the ceiling, and the place was full. The new wave scene was full of unique looking kids and a lot of interesting songs and dance numbers. 

Whatever made her happy Andy was content with.

Brian and Michelle chose a table closest to the far end of the club. It was to the far right side of the stage, and directly on the edge of the dance floor. The only lighting in the place was above the stage in three different color spotlights, on the ceiling above the bar, and in small rows of dim lights across the floor.

The three girls took their seats at the table, and John and Brian went to the bar to get a pitcher and a round of jell-o shots for the group. Andy hung his jacket up on the back of the chair, and took his seat next to his girlfriend.

She looked simply stunning. After being in Vancouver for so long, he once again grew used to being in the presence of girls who wore a lot of make up and did their hair up nicely wherever they went. They were a lot like the girls that he had hung around with for most of his high school career. He forgot how naturally beautiful his girlfriend was as opposed to the other females he hung around with.

She never did much to spruce herself up, and she didn't need to. At most, she would tie her hair back with an elastic or scrunchie, and apply a little bit of mascara. These days she wore her hair a lot longer than she used to; it fell about three and half inches below her shoulders. Her face had also matured, but her eyes still had that mischievous twinkle in him that haunted his dreams at night. She was truly magnificent in his eyes.

Looking at her natural attractiveness and her alluring personality, it made him realize how stupid he was when he was gone. He knew that his loneliness and home sickness was no excuse for his actions. He loved Allison more than he loved life itself. It burned and itched him that he couldn't have her and hold her whenever he wanted to. He had let the fact that he was in a new place – in a new life – get to his head and cloud his judgment. He made a terrible mistake.

He was happy that he never had to see Alex ever again. No longer would she be there to jeopardize one of the best things in his life. He was going to erase her from his life forever.

He turned to his girlfriend and smiled at her. "Do you want to dance with me?"

When she turned to face him, her hair swished behind her shoulder in a sweeping fashion. Her left eyebrow rose slightly as she smiled and nodded her head. She stood from her seat, letting Andy's eyes trail over her slender body. At that very moment he realized what he needed to do to get over his aching conscience. He didn't want to waste _any_ _more_ time. He slipped his fingers between hers and led her out to the packed dance floor.

* * *

John returned to the table with a beer pitcher in his right arm. In his left, he had a purchased bottle of Dasani water for Claire. She accepted it gratefully and smiled at him. He sat next to her and slung an arm across the back of her chair. "Where's sporto and basket case?" 

Claire nodded out towards the dance floor. He followed her line of vision and saw the two pressed closely together and moving with the music. He broke his gaze when Brian sat next to him with the tray of shots. They brought back twenty of them, so the five of them could have four each (it was also cheaper that way). John instantly grabbed two shots – a blue and a red – and squeezed them down his throat.

"So it's great to be back together again. I'm glad that you guys wanted to come out tonight!" Brian proclaimed happily. He poured a glass of beer for himself and took a small sip. "I haven't gotten to see much of you guys since I've been back. Sorry about that."

Claire shrugged and smiled at him. "It's okay Brian. We have all summer to hang out together. Besides, you have to get ready for your wedding."

Michelle's grin widened. "Only two and half months left! I'm so excited!"

Bender hated wedding talk, however, Claire grinned in response. "I'm going to be fat." Bender had to roll his eyes again at that. Claire was constantly scared about being fat.

Michelle smacked her arm. "Nonsense, Claire! You'll look beautiful. We'll just have to make sure that we get you a dress that will fit for then."

Claire glared at her. "Oh way to make it sound more appealing. Are you sure you can't wait until like…November?"

Brian laughed at her. "If we did that we would be missing school. We want to go back to school after the wedding and the honeymoon, that way we don't get behind in any of our studies."

John snorted at that. "It's not like you couldn't copy her work from last year."

Claire perked an eyebrow at him and took a sip of water. "Would you go to a doctor that copied his way through school? That would be awfully scary if you ask me."

John shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see fuckin' doctors anyways. All they want is my money. You go to three of 'em and they all say something different."

Brian gave John a playful nudge. "Well if it makes you feel better, John, I will see you for free."

John laughed. "Yeah I can picture it now, Dr. Dork checking _me_ for prostate cancer."

Brian's face burned and he quickly downed a shot. "Please don't make me re-evaluate my life, Bender. Those kinds of thoughts make me want to crawl into a hole and die."

The table erupted into laughter then. John couldn't understand how Brian could want a job feeling people's asses anyways. Doctors were pretty fucked up in his opinion. He took a long swig of beer and watched as Allison returned to her seat. As she sat, Andy knelt in front of her. He smiled and stared directly into her eyes.

"Marry me." That came out of no where!

Bender's beer flew from his mouth and dosed the top of the table. Claire, Michelle, and Brian sat stunned. However, Allison noticed nothing else but her boyfriend down in front of her. Her eyes were pooled with emotion and she brought a hand up to her mouth. Bender wanted nothing more than to jump the jock right then and there.

"Yeah…yes I will!" She fell into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The rest of the group clapped and hollered at them, but John remained quiet. The only thing he thought of was the obvious love bite on Andrew's neck when he picked him up from the airport. The way he avoided calling Allison, and how he said next to nothing about her when he showed up.

The proposal was not good. It was not good at all.

Allison grinned as she pulled away from him and looked at the rest of the group. "I'm getting married."

_**TBC**_

* * *

(-)The face kicking, getting wasted, and evil step brothers from the Bender & Allison section at the top were things that actually happened in 'The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case'. John and Allison hung together a lot, and some how fucked up shit always happened to them, lol. 

**A/N**: Okay, so Andy wants to fix things…and Bender isn't happy about it. Allison is stoked, Claire thinks she's fat, and Brian and Michelle are planning their own wedding. What else can happen next? Lots my friends! Stay tuned for chapter 8! Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to review! By the way, Kendall, that Kermit mug was dedicated to you. I know how much you love Muppets. XD


	8. Can't Buy Me Love

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for drug use, language, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: John Bender is pissed and Claire Standish wants to get to the bottom of it.  
**A/N**: Thanks for all of the great reviews! You guys are wonderful! Please enjoy chapter 8!

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**Chapter 8 – Can't Buy Me Love**

* * *

"Fuckin' piece of shit, open will you!" John kneed the door roughly as he tried – unsuccessfully – to unlock the door in his drunken state. He and Claire had been standing outside their apartment door for over ten minutes now, and the whole time John had been cursing. 

"Do you want me to open it?" Claire asked amusedly. She rubbed her hands over her swollen abdomen and smiled at him.

Her amusement was apparently one sided. "Do I look like I need help? I'm not fuckin' dumb and I can open a door!" She winced at the volume that he used. It was past midnight and surely her neighbors did not appreciate the noise.

He finally swung the door open and stormed inside. She followed him in with a small smirk on her face and closed the door quietly behind her. John didn't even bother taking his shoes off; he made a beeline for the fridge immediately and grabbed himself another beer.

"Don't you think you've had enough tonight?" She set her purse down on the floor in the hallway and made her way towards him in the living room where he now sat on the couch. "You've been drowning yourself in beer all night."

"No I haven't had enough. At times like these you can _never_ have enough." He tipped the can of Budweiser back and drank about half of the can in one drink. He wiped a few driblets from his lip and reached into a drawer in the coffee table. Claire noticed immediately that he was pulling out his stash.

"You're not smoking that in here." She said sternly. He only pulled out his weed in the living room when he was extremely agitated.

"To hell I'm not. I _will_ do whatever I want." He dumped the entire bag out onto the table. He had at least a half quarter in front of him, which was enough to last him a few hours. At the rate he was going with the drinking and the smoking, however, Claire figured he would probably pass out within the hour.

"John, I said no. I don't want you smoking that in my apartment." She tried her best to hold her own against him. She was afraid in his state that luck was not on her side tonight.

He didn't say anything at all. He had a dark look in his eyes and he stared across the room at an invisible spot on the wall. In his fingers was a half rolled joint; he didn't even have to look at it as he rolled it, he had done it so many times – sadly – that it was like second nature to him. Claire hadn't seen him look so troubled for a long time. His hair fell into his eyes and his lips were twisted into a nasty sneer.

"Of course, _princess_, it's all _yours_. This isn't _my_ home, only yours." His voice had a disgustingly mocking tone to it and she didn't like it at all. He brought he newly rolled doobie to his mouth and lit it up swiftly.

"I didn't mean it that way, John! I just wish you wouldn't smoke in here! The smell seeps into the hallways and I don't really want it around me when I've got another person to worry about!" She moved to the chair on the other side of the room and fanned the smoke from her face.

He only glared at her again, and arrogantly blew his next toke right in her direction. "Are you sure about that, Red? You're always holding that shit over me. You always try to make me feel like a worthless piece of shit!" He angrily sent the contents of the coffee table to the floor with a sweep of his arm. She winced at the loud noise and clenched her jaw.

"You're obviously drunk, John. This is ridiculous! You don't need to be getting angry and so defensive with me. I think I am being pretty reasonable here and there is no need for you to be acting this way." She tucked her hair behind her ears and dropped down on her knees to begin picking up the mess on the floor.

"Don't touch that!" He yelled at her.

She glared at him, losing her patience quickly. "Well I'm not about to leave a mess on the floor!"

His face softened a touch and he stubbed out his joint in an ashtray. He heaved a sigh and walked over to her and offered her his hand. She took it tentatively and rose to her feet. He led her back over towards the chair and motioned for her to sit down, and she did so. He turned around once more and dropped to the floor, picking up the contents from the coffee table. "I'm sorry, okay. I just don't feel well."

She nodded at him. "That's fine, John. Why don't we just go to bed then?"

He shook his head stubbornly and neatly piled a stack of magazines back on the table. "No."

"Why not?"

"I can't sleep." Was his curt reply. He stood back up after the floor was tidied and sat back down on the couch. He picked his joint back up from the ashtray and lit it up again.

She sighed. "What's the matter then?" When John drank there were always two different outcomes. He either got very goofy and spent the entire night playing jokes on people and doing extraordinarily embarrassing things, or he got very agitated, angry, and sick.

The times where he was having fun and pulling pranks were fine with her. She would get embarrassed, people would laugh, and they would have a good time. Her prom night and a certain incident involving Ronald Reagan masks and streaking at a birthday party came to mind. He was carefree and reckless and there was never a dull moment with him. (1)

When he was angry though, he said and did stupid things. He wouldn't be able to control his anxiety and would smoke and drink himself into oblivion. He would make messes of things and send her mixed signals. She was never afraid of what he may do; she only became extremely annoyed with him. He would take things and blow them out of proportion and stress her out. She definitely did not appreciate this behavior at that particular moment in time.

When she got no answer from him, she folded her arms and sat back in her chair. He stared out the window next to him and blew his smoke out into the open crack. "John? Do you want to talk about anything?"

He shook his head. "There is nothing to talk about." He stubbed out his roach and sat back on the couch. He threw his arm over his eyes and tilted his head back towards the ceiling.

"There has to be something that's bothering you. You were fine at the club for the first little bit, and then you seemed off. Please talk to me?" She dropped her chin into her hands and pouted.

"I don't want to talk, okay! Everything is wrong and I don't like it!" She could tell he was losing his cool now. His arm fell from his face and he took deep breaths.

She shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "Fine, if you want to be that way, you have fun by yourself. I'm going to bed. I don't have time for this." She turned her back on him and padded softly down the hallways towards their shared bedroom in the middle of the hall. When she reached the door, she stopped to listen for any signs of life from him in the living room. Silent curses could be heard until she heard a loud _crack. _

She was almost sure that was the sound of his knuckles connecting with the concrete wall.

She shook her head and silently walked into her bedroom. The night had gone well! She shared some great dances with Michelle and Allison, they had discussed wedding plans for Brian and Michelle…she had even revealed the sex of her baby to the girls. Most of all, Allison was engaged! Andy had proposed to her and they had spent the night celebrating! She couldn't drink – obviously – because of her pregnancy, so she got to be the designated driver for the night while everyone else had some fun. Allison had decided to spend the night with Andy at his new apartment, while Brian and Michelle opted to stay at Mic's mother's house for the evening.

Claire pulled her blouse off over her head and slipped on her night shirt, which fell down to her mid thigh. She also discarded her pants and her socks into a hamper next to their dresser. She sat glumly on her bed and let her mind drift off to the father of her baby once more.

She was almost positive that he was pissed at Andrew again, yet still she couldn't figure out why. Something had to have gone on between the two men that put them at odds more than they ever had been. It was very apparent – and suspicious – to her that they were side stepping each other so much. Things seemed normal to her when the two men had spoken on phone to each other just a few days previous. They made their usual macho and witty jokes and remarks, and John grudgingly agreed to do him a favor. When she was picked up in the car, John wanted nothing to do with the blonde jock, while Andy seemed spiteful of John's behavior.

Brian and Allison seemed oblivious. They were just happy that Andy was back and that the group was all together again, so they paid no heed to any abnormal behavior between John and Andy. Claire too was glad that he was back, but couldn't help but pick up on their increasing hostility.

Michelle had also pointed out that John couldn't hold down his drink during the proposal.

Claire knew that he and Allison were good friends. They always were. When times had been tough between he and Claire, John always went to Allison. When times got tough at home, John always went to Allison. Yet when Andrew Clark called him on it in detention four years ago, John took a punch in the face. He declared to Andy that it was him who would always be number one in Allison's book, not John, and that he would never fuck that up. (2)

John and Andy had told _each other_ to never fuck it up. John knew better than anyone what was going on between Andy and Allison, and approved it, yet now he seemed to be the only one against it.

It didn't make any sense.

The two boys always had their grudges, but at the same time they always helped each other out. Claire would even go as far as giving credit to Andy for saving her relationship with John. She still to this day had never found out what he did or said to fix things, but it was indeed the blonde jock that did so.

She could still remember the conversation that the two boys had the day at the airport when Andy had left (3). They had made a pact to keep themselves in line, and that John would keep a level head for everyone. In every essence of the word the two had been friends, whether they would admit it or not.

She sighed glumly and turned her bedside lamp off. She lay on her side and faced the wall, with a soft, satin sheet covering her fragile body. She felt cold.

It was only a few moments later when her bedroom door crept open and closed again, and she could hear John stumbling through the room. He cursed a few times as he stubbed his toes and tripped over things, but she presumed that he was being as quiet as he could. In the darkness, she could see him pull his Guns N' Roses t-shirt off and drop his pants. She watched amusedly as he almost tripped over himself a few times before finally crawling onto the bed in one piece. She closed her eyes.

He turned over onto his side so that he was facing her and took a few moments to adjust his pillow. At that point, she was getting rather irritated at his squirming. It hit the boiling point when she felt him snake a hand under her night shirt and between her legs. She squealed at the touch and spun around to face him.

"Do you have to do that?"

He chuckled drunkenly. "I am compelled to do things I have absolutely no control over."

She snorted and lay back down on her pillow. "You're compelled to goose me when I am sleeping?"

He shrugged. "You weren't sleepin'. You're a faker."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Okay, maybe a little bit."

"I told ya I'm not stupid."

She sighed. "I know you're not stupid. You were just acting silly and putting words in my mouth. I just wanted to know why you felt upset." She tucked a strand of hair out of his eyes and smiled at him.

"I don't like Sporto; he is a fuckin' jack ass." His voice was deep and agitated; Claire could immediately tell that he was being dead serious. He only got that angry with someone for a perfectly good reason; she would know she had been on the receiving end of it.

"What did he do, John? Why are you so angry to see him? You guys used to be friends." She tried to press him as gently as she could without angering him again.

"I think he strangled himself in his tights too many times; he's dumb as fuck." He was staring right into her eyes as he spoke. They were rolling a bit from the alcohol, but were as intense as they could be given the circumstances.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Are you mad that he proposed to Allison?"

He snorted. "Nothin' can be done now. It's over."

She was totally confused. She wasn't sure if it was because he was drunk or he just really didn't want to tell her. She had a feeling that it was a combination of both. She pressed further. "This is good for her. She loves him and she deserves it after waiting for him for so long. They'll be good together. They always were, remember?"

"He wasn't a backstabbin' traitor then." John huffed. "I don't want to talk about this."

So Andy _did_ do something to anger him. She figured she got enough information from him for one night and left the matter at that for the time being. She sighed. "Fine. But you know that you can always talk to me when you need to. I'll listen."

"You don't need to know anything. Just be quiet and let it be." He moved a bit closer to her and began to close her eyes. "You don't have to stress yourself…you're having a baby, remember?"

She laughed at that. "Trust me, I didn't forget. Your son has been kicking me so much that I can't forget."

He snorted and pushed his face into the pillow further. "I thought you wanted a girl?"

She kissed him on the forehead as he seemed to relax more. "I did, but I still love him. You can't always get what you want, and in this case I'll take what I can get."

He popped an eye open at her and a lazy smile started to spread over his face. "You found out it's a boy?"

She nodded at him and kissed him again. "Maybe…"

That information seemed to sober him up a bit. "I told you. What dumb ass honky came up with the whole 'mommy knows best' bullshit? I so just won that round!" She smiled at him as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"I take it you're happy finally?" She returned the kiss and raked a finger through his hair. The lazy grin spread and he nodded.

"Umhmm." He moved his head down towards her neck and began a trail of kisses along her jaw line. He moved his hands down towards the hem of her night shirt again. "Now I just need to get you screaming my name and my night will be complete." He moved his lips down further.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh my, Johnathon, you have such a way with words."

"Less talk more sex, please."

_**TBC**_

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_Notes_:  
(1) – From 'The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case'. John got drunk and whipped his dick out in front of an entire mass leaving a church. That was in Chapter 39. Also, the Reagan mask incident was mentioned in Chapter 42 when the boys had crashed Ashley's birthday party. Brian claims he is molested with a broom. LOL.  
(2) – Also from TWTEABC. Chapter 26 when the gang is back in detention; Claire and Bender get into a massive fight (again) and Andy gets mad at her for starting shit. Then Allison takes Claire's side, and things get blown WAY out of proportion until Allison is cornered by both Andrew and Claire about her friendship with John.  
(3) – TWTEABC Chapter 42 when Andy leaves for British Columbia. 

**A/N**: That was a bit short, but it was mostly filler. Bear with me here. I'm doing lots of preparing for some big things, so it's needed. Also, please check out my other Breakfast Club fics if you haven't already done so. I would love some more readers:) Next chapter, we visit Andy and Allison at his apartment and find out a bit more about Andy's plans. So I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, and please don't forget to review! Cheers!


	9. The Time to Hesitate is Through

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Andy and Allison discuss the sudden proposal; Andy's mom visits them and receives the news. Claire and Michelle go out for lunch and discuss some of their detective work.  
**A/N**: Hey all! I just want to say that I finally put a freakin' plot to this story! LOL. So I have it all planned out and outlined to the end, and ladies and gentlemen I am anticipating 34 chapters. I know it isn't as many as 'basket case', but word count-wise it should be just as long if not longer. So I am glad that I finally got that out of the way! So here is chapter 9, please enjoy and review!

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**Chapter 9 – The Time to hesitate is through**

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_June 8, 1988_

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The dream of most little girls is their wedding day. It doesn't matter what race, religion, culture, or even if they are a tom-boy, all little girls think about the day they get a husband of their very own. 

Allison had always wanted a wedding that was creative, but incredibly romantic. She had thought about where she would have it, what she would wear, who she would invite; she even wondered who would walk her down the aisle.

She wondered what it would be like if she didn't get married in Chicago; if she went away to a small town full of pretty parks with no garbage and smelly sewage. She would like a place that wasn't rotting in car pollution and lined with drug dealers and robbers. The country sounded nice. There was open sky for a clear view of the shining sun, trees, animals, fresh air…there were times if she wondered a country wedding would be perfect, even though she was the furthest thing from being country.

In a country setting, she would probably get away with not wearing a great big, expensive, and puffy dress. There, she could wear a nice pair of sandals, and maybe even a sun dress. She could put flowers in her hair and wear pretty jewelry. She liked the idea of marriage being a happy, beautiful commitment, rather than feeling like a traditional trap that she would have to live up to for the sake of everyone else. She would wear what she wanted and so could all of her guests.

Her guests would probably be an interesting mix. She couldn't say the same thing for Andrew, but she didn't have very many friends and the ones that she did have weren't really the formal type – save for Claire and Michelle. Eddy would definitely be there, as well as the rest of the Breakfast Club. She figured that she would probably have to invite her dad and his wife, Pamela – as well as her devil children, Mark and Jake. The one person she often wondered about though was her mother.

She hadn't seen the woman since 1983, which was about five and a half years previous. Her relationship with her parents had been a strange one for her whole life. She didn't know much about them before she was born, only that her mother was very young when she had gotten pregnant, and that they were forced into a marriage. She got the idea that her father had always been bitter about things being out of his control. He had always referred to Allison as her mother's child, and not his.

Her mother was okay when she was around. She tried to be involved with Allison's life, but she just had too many problems. Her father was a very controlling man to her mother; he always had to know what she was doing and why she was doing it. The pressure was unbearable on her mom, so she spent a lot of her time shopping and spending money. As the fighting got worse between her parents, her mother's spending habits grew more severe and she developed a major gambling problem, resulting in them losing their home and having to move into a two-bedroom apartment. (1)

It was only after a few months in the apartment that her mother couldn't stand it anymore. The fighting had gotten worse; she had started stealing from Allison's father, and began having an affair with another married man – who was a doctor and willing to supply her with more cash. Allison couldn't bear that fact that she was shoved to the side as her parents selfishly fought over who got what. She wanted them to love each other, and most of all she wanted them to love her. She thought it may be a far stretch for her father, but never for her mom. She had so much faith that things would work for her.

And then one day she was gone.

She hadn't taken any of her clothes or personal belongings. She had only left a note that she was tired of the way things were going. That was the last time Allison had ever heard from her. From that day on, Allison lost all hope in ever finding love or comfort again. She waited months and months for a phone call that never came. Worst of all, her father never once talked to her about it. She got the impression that he was upset that he was now stuck with his wife's child; the nuisance who was responsible for forcing him into a life that he never wanted.

It was only six months later that her father was engaged again. Allison hated Pamela at first; the woman dressed bad, had a nasally voice, and was constantly trying to pry at her. Her children were always stealing her bedroom, and her father wanted to go on with the wedding even though he wasn't even divorced from her mother yet. The whole situation broke her heart, and it was the reason for her moving in with Claire before she had even finished high school.

Things had gotten better for Allison and Pamela as time went by; Pam had helped her out on her prom night, and even with moving in with Claire. Pam could never replace Allison's biological mother, but she made a really good mother-figure, and was a friend of sorts to her. She didn't like to admit it out loud, but in a lot of ways she was thankful for Pam's presence at certain times – when she needed her mother the most.

She couldn't help but be a little sad that it wasn't indeed her mom that was there. She often wondered what would have happened if things had turned out differently and her parents were still together. Would her mother be proud of her if she saw her now? Allison was pretty sure that her mother would indeed like Andy, her apartment, and her nice little job at the record store. She was no longer seeking psychiatric help, nor was she causing any unnecessary trouble.

She had grown up and she was happier than she ever had been.

She wished she could find her mom, just so that she could tell her the news. It was another one of those times that she longed for her maternal presence – for help, for advice…for hope.

She didn't want her and Andy to turn out the same way that her parents did. Andy was the one that picked her up from that lonely slump that she had been in after her parents had left. She forgot the need to leave the city, the need to hurt herself, and the longing she felt at night. He was the first real light in her life; after everyone she loved had abandoned her and broke her heart, he was there to keep her alive.

She loved him most for that. He had always had that faith in her. He always told her that he had admired her strength.

However, that fear still lingered in the back of her mind and licked at her conscience. Would he ever leave her like her mother left her and her father? Would he ever forget about her like her father did to her mother?

Would she ever be left in the depths of her despair like she once had been?

The _last_ thing she could ever want or hope for was those black days back to cloud her life. She had just gotten him back from Canada and he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. Such a vow was taken very seriously by her, and she was more than ready to devote herself to him so that they could be happy and free together forever.

She wanted to get to know him again, so that things could be like they had been before he had left. She wanted to take that next step forward so they could develop a more adult and mature relationship.

She wanted to move on from her past and move forward with him.

* * *

"So I was thinking tofu dogs for you, regular meat for myself. I have a small little grill that I can just put out on the balcony. If you want, I can make some shish kabob as well." Andy moved across the floor of his living room and turned on the light switch on the wall. The sitting room illuminated and Allison smiled at him. 

"That sounds great." She paused. "So I take it you are enjoying it here?" She folded her hands in her lap and watched him as he hung up a picture of Whistler Mountain on his wall.

He didn't turn around. "Yeah, it's okay for one person."

She bit her lip and looked around. It was definitely a bachelor apartment. The walls were painted a bland white, and the carpets were a dull gray. There was only the kitchen/living room (with only a small four foot wide wall separating the two), a bedroom, and a bathroom. It was pretty small, but Allison figured it fit Andy just fine.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Allison pointed out.

He finally pulled his attention away from the painting and looked at her with his hands on his hips. "Well, you know what I mean."

"No I don't," she replied with an edge to her voice. She stood from the couch and approached him. "What _did_ you mean?"

He sighed and brought his hands up to her hips. "I'm just saying it won't be big enough for both of us."

She widened her eyes and stepped back from him. "Who said anything about living together? I thought we agreed to wait?"

His face fell. "I thought you said you wanted to get married?" He raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "Is it because you don't have a ring? Because I can get you one no problem…"

She rolled her eyes and blew her hair out of her face. "It's not that at all, Andrew! Yes I want to marry you, but it's not like we're going to be doing _that_ next month!"

"When do you want to? I'll wait for whenever you choose. It's all your choice." He gave her a reassuring smile and stepped towards her again.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I was thinking next year…or the year after…or something?" She leaned her head against his chest and hugged him. "Let's not rush and screw anything up, okay?"

"Sure, that's fine." He replied, running his hand up and down her back.

"But a ring would be nice…" She added, smiling into his chest.

He let out one of his famous laughs. "Yeah, yeah, it's coming."

"Andy, can I ask you something?" Allison asked; she pulled away from him and walked back towards the couch to sit down.

"Yeah, sure. Anything you want."

She heard no hesitation in his voice, so she continued. "When you were in Canada…did you think about asking me to marry you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side. "Why would you ask that?"

She smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. I just figured you for the kind of guy to plan some cheesy picnic with fireworks and Bruce Springsteen blaring from the bronco."

He laughed at that. "Of course I did. I just wanted to…I don't know…" He scratched the back of his head and smiled at her. "I just couldn't wait I guess."

That was a good enough answer for her. He really did surprise her with the proposal. At the same time, she knew that he wasn't planning to do it at all. The Andrew Clark she knew was always prepared for everything that he did. She wasn't upset about it, but she knew least of all if he were not doing it impulsively, he would have had a ring.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. She looked at him expectantly, and he moved towards the entrance. When she heard him open the door, his voice rang out with happiness.

"Hey, ma! What are you doing here?" Allison smiled at the thought of Andrew's mother.

"Just came over to see my long lost son, of course! Be a dear and take my coat." She heard the two laugh their identical laughs.

Soon they appeared in front of her and Allison stood to welcome her future mother-in-law. "Hello, Mrs. Clark."

She hugged Allison and smiled at her. "Please for the love of god call me Jill! Mrs. Clark makes me feel like a grandmother. I'm also divorced you know."

Allison bit her lip. "Sorry…Jill."

Andy rolled his eyes at the two women and motioned towards a recliner chair. "Take a seat, ma. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, no, I won't be long. I was just in the neighborhood shopping at Sears and I thought I would stop by and see how you were doing." She tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears and smiled at him.

He nodded. "Well…I'm fine. In fact, I'm glad that you stopped by because Allison and I have some news."

"Andrew!" His mother yelled scolding, and jumped to her feet. "You better not have gotten that poor girl pregnant!"

"NO!" Andy yelled back. "I did not get her pregnant, mother! Jesus, how could you…damn!"

She sat back down and smiled. "Good, I'm too young to be a grandma." She brushed off her jeans. "And watch your mouth."

Andy snorted and shook his head at her, and took a seat next to Allison on the couch. "No I just wanted to let you know that I proposed to Allison."

"And I said yes." Allison pitched in.

She didn't say anything for a few moments, which made Allison a little nervous. She just stared at Andy and her eyes welled up with tears. "Oh my baby! Congratulations! I always knew you two were great to each other no matter what Richard said." She stood up to hug her son. "This is so wonderful." (2)

* * *

Claire took a sip of her iced tea and watched Michelle. The auburn haired girl was picking at her salad with a disgusted look on her face. 

"What's wrong?" Claire asked her finally.

"They put bacon in my salad." Oh, why did both of her best two girlfriends have to be hardcore vegetarians? Claire rolled her eyes.

"So ask for a new one. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." Claire took a bite of her own salad and shrugged at her friend.

"I think I made it clear when I said no meat or dairy products, Claire." She threw her fork down in the bowl and folded her arms. "I am never eating here again. They always mess up my order."

Claire swallowed her food and wiped her lips with her napkin. "Well, at least you handle it better than Allison does. Last time she decided to show them just how 'nasty' their meaty sandwiches were, she threw it over her shoulder and into someone else's food bowl."

Michelle snorted at that and took a drink of her own iced tea. "How is she doing anyways?"

Claire shrugged. "I am going to say well. I haven't seen her much since the whole club incident…she's only been home one night in the last week. I wished she would just come home and talk to John."

Michelle furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

Claire shrugged. "I don't know. He's been mad at the sound of her name since last weekend."

Michelle's eyebrows perked at that. "Ah, so I think this is when our detective work should come into play." She winked at Claire. "Have you found anything out yet?"

The red head smiled. "Well, he called Andy a traitor. He also said that it was 'too late' for him, and that it's 'all over'. Now I know that something is definitely going on and we should find out what it is. This can't continue."

"I agree," Michelle stated and waved over the waiter to get their bill. "All the clues point to Andy. I don't think it has anything to do with Allison."

Claire thought about that. John had no reason at all to be upset with Allison, or else the problems would have started before Andy came home. In fact, John was fine when he was talking to Andrew on the phone, and it was only when he went to pick him up that things got problematic. "You're right." Claire agreed.

"Maybe we should go pay Andy a visit?" Michelle suggested.

Claire rolled her eyes. "He would definitely be easier to break than John, that is for sure. I really have to wonder just what he is hiding."

"You don't think he killed someone, do you?" Michelle asked.

Claire laughed at loud. "My god you sound more and more like Brian everyday. No, I don't think he killed someone. If that was the case, John would probably be congratulating him."

Michelle joined her laughter and accepted the bill from the waiter. "Okay, so it was silly, shoot me. I say we go see Andy in a few days."

Claire nodded. "Okay, but Allison can't know. She'll probably get upset with us for snooping."

Michelle quickly nodded in agreement. "Agreed; I don't want this coming back to bite us in the ass."

* * *

(1)From the prequel. Follows 'basket case' verse, and is a little off from canon for my own purposes. More detailed info is found in chapter 20.  
(2)Richard is Andy's father. The two had a falling out over a number of things (including university, wrestling, and Allison). Andy's parents broke up around the time that he left. 

**A/N** - Boring, I know. Shoot me. But I needed this chapter. Just to make up for it though, there is going to be an exciting chapter coming up next! Oh yeah! Bender confronts Andy! Ye-yeah! So stay tuned for that, and don't forget to review!

---_SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT_--- check out my newest story, _Reality Shift_! It features all five kids of the Breakfast Club, and they are mixed up! If you are into humor/romance/drama/ and a little bit of sci-fi, then give it a read! I am POSITIVE that if you like this story, you will like that as well! That is all for now, I hope you enjoyed!


	10. Poison

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for drug use, language, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Eddie and Allison chat during work, while Andy gets a very angry visitor - John Bender.  
**A/N**: Sorry for the wait guys! I can be bad for that sometimes. I hope you enjoy the latest installment.

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**Chapter 10 - Poison**

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_June 11, 1988_

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"So how is the new place going?" Allison sat perched on a stool behind the desk at Speed City Records bored out of her skull. Anytime there was a warm, sunny day the place was pretty dead.

Eddie - who was equally as bored - sat next to her on the counter. "It's going; I still have to get settled in though. I still find it a bit disturbing that I'm so close to work. It feels like I never leave this place!" He waved his arms animatedly.

Allison rolled her eyes and leaned back on the two back legs of the stool. "Well you _are_ right upstairs."

He laughed. "Don't remind me, honey." He hopped down off the desk, his head full of dreadlocks bouncing in the process. "I can't even believe how slow it is in here today! I could've just slept in!"

Allison perked an eyebrow at him. "Late night again?" She knew that Eddie was still spending a lot of his time at Roscoe's since he and Michael had broken up. He had been pretty tight lipped about it, in her opinion. He would mention that he had gone there, but didn't say much else. She knew that it wasn't any of her business, but she was curious to know whether or not he had met anyone yet.

He nodded, but didn't look at her. "Yeah, I was bored so I went to the bar." He folded his arms and stared off out the window.

She let the stool drop back down on the floor and she cleared her throat. "Anything interesting happen?" Once again, he didn't look at her.

"Not much. I just got wasted. I almost got into a fight with a girl." His voice was monotonous, but his choice of words was enough to make her laugh.

"What do you mean you _almost_ got into a fight with a girl?" She shook her long hair from her face and smiled at him. "You couldn't kick the shit out of a wet paper bag."

He finally turned around and gave her a mock glare. "She was this big butchy girl. She got upset with me when I mentioned that I would win the wet t-shirt contest before she _ever_ would."

Allison bit back a laugh. "Did you?"

He perked an eyebrow. "Did I what?"

"Did you win the wet t-shirt contest?" She got such a kick out of him sometimes.

He grinned. "I got kicked out of the bar before I got the chance too. You should have seen her, her boobs hung so low you could play soccer with 'em. I'm way better looking." He held his hair up in a formal-do type manner and pretended to pose for her. "Don't you think?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, I would pay big money to see you in a wet t-shirt, Eddie. In fact, I'll probably be dreaming about it tonight."

He dropped his hair and waved his hand. "My ass you will be; not with that big sexy man you have lying next to you. I don't know how you don't melt, honey."

Allison grinned at the thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that." The two stopped to swoon for a few moments before she spoke up again. "Did I tell you what he did?"

He perked an eyebrow. "No, but I swear to god if it's juicy and you didn't tell me sooner, I will have to get in a cat fight with you too!"

"He asked me to marry him!"

"You bitch!" He yelled at her, giving her a small slap on the arm. "How could you hide that from me?" He wrapped her into a tight hug. "This is so awesome, Ally!"

A small smile tugged at her lips. "I know. I'm happy."

He returned her smile. "I'm glad that you are because you deserve it. Oh, and I totally shot dibs on DJ'ing your wedding."

Allison shrugged. "I'm sure that can be arranged." They sat in a companionable silence for a few moments. Allison was still having trouble letting it all sink in that she was going to marry Andy. Five years ago, she never would have guessed that a beautiful, strong man would be asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. It was all so surreal to her. Four years of long and patient waiting had finally paid off.

"So how long ago did this happen?" Eddie asked. Allison cringed.

"Uh…almost two weeks ago?"

"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?" He shrieked at her. Now she was in for it.

"Sorry?" She laughed. He threw an empty cardboard box at her and placed his hands on his hips.

"Now that's just rude. Here I am thinking we're good friends too."

"Stop being such a drama queen!" Allison said, throwing the box at him in a laughing fit. He only smiled and lifted his eyebrow in challenge.

"That is who I am, and you will never change me!" He stuck out his tongue at her immaturely and folded his arms over his chest.

"Would it make you feel any better if I asked you to be the flower girl?" She bit her lip and watched him innocently.

He scoffed. "Now that is such an insult to my gender, and my pride! And my ego!"

Allison only laughed harder at him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. He continued ranting playfully, until she looked back up at him. "Well? Do you?"

He eyed her, and sized her up. "Can I wear a dress?"

* * *

"So when can I start?" Andy asked with his interests peaked. He had been on the phone with The Chicago Tribune for about twenty minutes setting up details for his new job. He had initially sent Allison his resume, portfolio, and other required information, and she had dropped it off for him. They had conducted a long distance interview over the phone a few weeks before he had come home, and they were just now applying the finishing details.

"Monday sounds great." He smiled into the receiver and looked at the clock. "Sure, 8 a.m. is not a problem at all. It was great talking with you again." He paused a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, I will see you then. Have a good one…yes…good-bye." He put down the receiver and cracked a huge grin; he was finally getting on his feet, and he felt proud of himself.

He walked into his bedroom and started going through his suitcases to finish unpacking all of his clothes. He had been back for nearly two weeks and he still barely made a dent in his unpacking. He had been so preoccupied with catching up with everyone - and settling in - that he barely worked on his apartment.

He was having mixed reactions about being home; things were certainly different from before he had left. Of course there was the obvious fact that everyone had grown up and had more responsibilities, but that wasn't what was bugging him. It seemed as though he carried tension wherever he went; it was almost as if he were the topic of gossip and talk amongst those he spent his time with - including his friends and his family.

Things had been nice in Vancouver because he could be who he wanted to be, and he had no problems with anyone. All of his classmates were friendly and personable, and there wasn't very much drama with the exception of people getting bad grades and having a little too much fun at dorm parties. University life was very easy going for the most part, and he had to get readjusted to the faster paced, uptight lifestyle of Illinois again.

His family was up into his business a lot. His little brothers constantly wanted to spend time with him - which wouldn't be such an annoyance if they weren't calling him every single day. His mother was constantly prodding about the engagement, and getting his aunts and her friends to join her. He had met with his father once since his return, and didn't get very far with him besides their regular arguing and banter.

He fared no better with his friends. John had been breathing down his neck like a rabid dog since he had returned. He figured John was suspicious of him - which made Andy just a little uneasy considering John's close relationship with the others. However, all Andy wanted to do was put his past and his mistakes behind him. He wasn't pleased with what he had done, but he didn't want to be treated like a murderer because of it. He was still the same person that he was four and a half years ago, and it bothered him that John didn't see that. It was obvious that Andy had missed a lot since he had left; the relationships between the other members of the Breakfast Club had grown so tight-knit over the years that it made Andy very envious.

He still loved them more than any other friends he had before, yet he now felt like an outsider to a group that he had originally been part of.

He fared no better with Claire and Michelle. Although they were still welcoming him back with open arms - and at least treating him with some respect - they were still watching him like a hawk. He was unsure of their behavior completely; he had no idea what was going on with them, but he didn't like it. Brian and Allison seemed to be the only ones genuinely happy that he was back, and that bothered him a bit. Not only did he want to get on his feet and get his life in order, he wanted his friends back. No matter how fun Vancouver was, he missed them dearly.

It upset him that he was a stranger to the Breakfast Club.

He sighed and through his clothing back into his suitcase; he lost his motivation to get anything done that afternoon. It was Saturday afternoon, and he figured that there had to be a good movie on the television; that's all Saturday was good for, wasn't it?

He sulked out into the living room and sat on his couch, but before he could even turn the television on, there was a knock on his door. For a moment, he contemplated not even answering it. Allison was at work, and Brian was visiting with his grandparents, so it was probably someone he didn't want to see anyway. His blue eyes moved down to the remote control in his hand, and he decided to turn the television on.

"And for our four o'clock movie special today we will be featuring: The Karate Kid!" Andrew snorted in spite of himself; the movie was something that he and Brian had gone to see during his senior year of high school. They had gotten a real kick out of it.

The knocking on the door came again. "Open up Sporto! I can hear your TV, you dick weed!"

Andrew perked an eyebrow up at that. Why the hell would Bender have been at his door? He grudgingly placed the remote control back on the coffee table and walked the ten or so steps to the front door of his apartment. He slid the chain from the lock and opened the door for Bender to come in.

"What's going on, John?" Andy asked; he had absolutely no idea why John would want to come and see him.

John didn't even take his shoes off; instead he marched right into the living room and stood in the middle of the floor with his arms crossed. "I should be asking _you_ that question."

Andy's eyebrows furrowed. "I have no fucking clue what you are talking about…"

John took a few menacing steps towards him and pointed a finger at him. "You know damn well what I'm talking about and we're gonna talk about this once and for all."

Andy's anger began to get the better of him. "You aren't going to march your fucking way into my home and demand me to talk about anything! If you're going to be an asshole, you can just leave please!"

John just glared as he rolled his eyes at him. "You are so pathetic, Sporto. You act all innocent and fucking stupid when we both know that you are neither. So why don't you - for once in your stupid life - act like the big man that you always act like are, and just come out and say it to me!" He inched closer towards Andy. "I'm not going to let you fuck her around, so out with it!"

"I think you should go," Andy spun on his heel and opened up the door for John. Of course, being the stubborn idiot that he was, stood right in his place and just challenged Andy with his eyes. After a few moments of the boys simply glaring at each other, Andy slammed the door closed and let his arms fall to his sides dejectedly. He walked back to his couch, and watched the Karate Kid around Bender's side.

John angrily slammed a fist at the side panel on the TV, causing it to turn off. Andy's eyes rose and met his and he simply stared at him. John's top lip twitched in anger, and Andrew saw nothing but disgust in the older boy's eyes.

"I wanna know why you got her hopes up."

"I love her!" Andrew nearly screamed at him. "I would never just get her hopes up."

Bender looked completely unfazed. "Then why did your stupid ass ask her to marry you? Answer me that, you piece of shit!"

"Because I want to spend my fucking life with her! I would do anything - anything - to be with her!" Andrew was getting extremely angry, and he knew at any moment he would lose his patience with him. It wasn't a feeling that he was unfamiliar with when it came to Bender.

"You would do anything for her?" He asked incredulously.

Andrew stared at him with cold eyes. "Anything."

"Even fuck another chick behind her unknowing, innocent little back? Wow that sounds like a fucking fairy tale moment if you ask me." John's eyes were pooling with anger and accusation.

Andrew, on the other hand, felt like he had just been punched in the gut - worse, like his nuts had been ripped off and shoved down his throat. "Wh-what did you say?"

Triumph began to appear in John's eyes and he moved in for the kill. "Not calling for weeks on end, always being busy, coming home with hickeys on your neck…now I would think you were rolling around with another girl, and not a vacuum cleaner. Of course, it could be another guy too. So what is it?"

Andrew's mouth went completely dry, and for the first time in his entire life he had felt so ashamed with himself, that he couldn't look another person in the eye. He stood from his seat and grabbed his forehead with his hands. "No…you're not doing this to me…"

John grabbed him by the arm and shoved him roughly into the wall behind him. "NO! You are not doing 'this' to her! Now out with it, you piece of shit! You porked someone else, didn't you? Then you came back and dipped your filthy cock back into your girlfriend who waited for you to come home like some lost little puppy!"

"Who are you to talk? I remember that you did the same thing to Claire in high school, you fucking hypocrite! You are no better than me!" Andrew breathed heavily. (1)

John closed his mouth and stared at Andy. "Only I told her the truth. You just sit back and hide it."

Andy shook his head angrily. "This is none of your fucking business. You have no right to be sticking your huge nose where it doesn't belong. Back off, Bender, I'll do what I need to do."

Bender perked an eyebrow. "Is that what you think?"

Andrew glared dangerously at him. "I don't think, I know!" He grabbed John by the collar and pushed him away from him. "Now get the fuck out of here before I have to beat your ass again!"

John straightened out his shirt. "You know, it sickens me that all those people - that fucking breakfast club, or whatever the fuck - they think that you are some perfect hero, you know that? They talk about you like you are some fucking big shot hero, or god or something," He shook his hair from his face and straightened his posture. "But I know better. I always knew better. You don't give a shit about anyone else but yourself."

Andrew softened considerably at this; he was almost sure that he felt his heart break into a million pieces. "Listen, John - I…"

He raised a hand as he began to walk backwards towards the door. "Save it, sport. You weren't the one who watched her for four years waiting for you. I heard her cry at night. I saw her sulk when you never called or came home. You aren't going to fuck her around anymore."

"Bender…" Andy was almost pleading with him. The look in the eyes of one John Bender no longer showed anger or frustration; it was pure disgust.

He opened up the door and kept his eyes glued on Andy's. "They may see you as the fuckin' untouchable hero, but just remember - Sporto - who was the one who was there for them all along. You aren't going to come waltzing back into our lives and fuck everything up."

"I'm sorry…"

"Go fuck yourself," and with that, John slammed the door behind him and left. The cat was out of the bag and Andy had never felt worse in his life.

He had no idea what to do; all he knew was that he had to take a long time to think… and hard.

_**TBC**_

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(1) - In 'basket case' chapter 13.

**A/N****1**: I have two new one shots for you guys to check out. The first one is rated M (so you will have to adjust the filter settings) and it's an Allison and Andy piece. The second one is even more angsty (if that is possible) and it features the three boys. Check them out, I tried my best with them, I promise!

**A/N 2**: And there you have it! A bit intense, I know, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Also, you guys are killing me here! I get over 300 hits a chapter, and only 4-6 reviews? Come on now:D I give you a big smile, and in return, you can push the button down there, okay? It won't come up and bite you, you know! Go on, give it a try!


	11. Bomb Dropped

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, drug use, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Claire is getting ready for work when John returns home furious. Andy calls the house looking for John.  
**A/N**: For those wondering why it took Allison so long to tell Eddie her news, well I did that purposely to show that Andy was the one throwing the marriage in everyone's faces, while Allison was trying to keep things to herself on the down low. Allison is not a bursting with news type person, even though Eddie is someone that she trusts. I apologize if you didn't agree with it. :) I hope you enjoy the next installment!

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**Chapter 11 - Bomb Dropped**

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If there was one thing that Claire Standish prided herself in it was her ability to make herself look good in any given situation - including being six months pregnant. She was really beginning to show now - in her opinion - and she had finally accepted the growing bump in her belly. She couldn't wait to start her shopping for him.

John wasn't really one for baby shopping; he felt that clothing and blankets and should be left up to Claire. He was always more interested in working with his hands and building things, so the previous week he had started work on making a hand built crib for their son. Bedroom furniture was costly - and they needed to save all the money that they could - so he made a deal with her that if she would do all the (what he called) crappy-cheesy-shit-shopping, he would use his skills to make all of the wooden furniture. It was a deal that Claire readily agreed to - mainly because she worried at the thought of John dressing their son.

The last thing she needed was an infant with a Mohawk, a pierced ear, and a leather jacket.

On the other hand, other clothing arrangements were frustrating her as well. She and Allison had accompanied Michelle to Madison to go looking for some dresses for the wedding. While they hadn't found a bridal dress, they did pick out a design for the bridesmaids, got Allison's fitted, and paid for. Meanwhile, Claire could not even get fitted due to the fact that in two months - when the wedding was scheduled - she would be close to her due date, and very, very pregnant. They had made an inquiry to the tailor in the shop, who was only able to say that he could take the design of Allison's dress and create one that was a maternity for double the amount of money that the dress was originally worth.

Luckily for them Michelle's mom was in charge of the wedding party dress.

It was really the first time that she had such a major role in someone's wedding. Four years ago when Allison's father had married her stepmother, she was able to do hair and makeup as well as help with hall decorations. She remembered how much fun they had, and how romantic she thought the whole thing was. She really was a romantic at heart and the whole evening she had dreamed of what it would be like if it had indeed been her own wedding that she'd been preparing for. Of course _if it was_ hers she would be able to get just about anything that she wanted for it. Her parents only wanted the most lavish and high end for their daughter - including their yet to be born grandson. Her mom had been bugging her for the last year about marrying - whether it be to John or not was another matter entirely - and it slightly irritated the redhead. Her mother had always been the traditional house-wife-marry-rich type, and she wanted nothing more than her only daughter to follow in her footsteps.

And being the mushy romantic and dreamer that she was, of course she did want to get married someday. However, the thought of her and John standing at the altar of a church in lavish garb seemed strange to her. Would John even step foot in a church? She knew for damn sure that he really was not a religious person. Would he even dress up? They were having a hard time convincing him into a tux for Brian's wedding. He showed up to his prom with a pair of combat boots and a cherry tie on, and the only formal birthday party he had ever been to he streaked at. (1)

He was a lost cause.

But that didn't entirely mean that they couldn't get married. There were all kinds of weddings that happened: casual, outdoor, on the beach, in Jamaica, in Vegas, in front of Elvis, in front of City Hall, in front of an alien, Star Wars themes, cowboy themes, hell even nude weddings weren't unheard of. There was so much that they really could do if they'd only put their minds to it, yet he never wanted to hear of any such talk. Predictably, that irritated Claire's parents, and they questioned the motives of a man who would not only move in with their daughter out of wedlock, but also impregnate her as well. Her parents were very Christian and the thought of a 'bastard' (as they had put it) child had unsettled them both very much at first.

Her parents of course eventually warmed to the idea of a grandchild (even if it did make them feel old) because of the fact that it was their precious daughter carrying it. It had been a long time since there had been any small children in the family, and her parents figured that they could have a lot of fun again - especially since the child wasn't theirs.

A quick jolt coming from her abdomen pulled her from her thoughts and she smiled to herself; if she didn't move faster then she would definitely be late for work, and being late for work at a spa on a Saturday would only create a nasty work environment, not only with her coworkers, but for her awaiting customers as well.

She quickly applied a thin layer of black mascara to her eyelashes, and tossed the tube back in her purse, zipping it up and tucking it away in the process. She turned the light off, and exited the bathroom, nearly crashing over John in the process.

'My god, John! You scared the shit out of me!" She placed a hand over chest and took a deep breath. "When did you get home?"

He only stared at her in an agitated manner and squeezed past her down the hallway. "Just now."

She furrowed her eyebrows; he looked really upset. "What's the matter? Did something happen to you?" She placed her hands on her hips and followed him into their bedroom. "Where did you go anyways? I got out of the shower and you were gone…"

"No where, I just went for a drive," He snapped, and quite obviously lied to her. "The jackasses on the road pissed me off is all, now shut up and leave me alone." He stripped himself of his black Guns N' Roses t-shirt and looked around the room for something clean.

Claire pointed in the direction of the laundry basket and sighed. "Please don't talk to me like that! All I did was ask you a question…"

He perked an eyebrow. "And all I did was answer, now drop it." He removed his pants and began walking towards the bathroom in the hallway. Claire, however, didn't want to drop the topic; obviously something was bothering him, and she wanted to know what it was.

"John, I'm your girlfriend…I'm here for you to talk to…" She smiled at him sweetly when he turned around.

He only frowned. "Really? When do I ever get the chance to talk between your gab fests?"

She glared at him. "You know, you should really be nice to people who are nice to you."

He snorted. "Yeah? And where the fuck does that ever get anybody?"

Before she could answer the phone rang; she sighed quietly to herself and began walking towards the living room to retrieve it. "I'm not done with you!"

"You were never started in the first place!" And with that, she heard the sound of the bathroom door closing and locking.

"Stubborn little baby," she muttered under her breath. She picked up the phone and held it against her ear. "Hello?"

"Claire?" It was Andy.

She smiled at his voice. "Yeah, it's me. How are you doing today?"

"Um, I'm, uh…fine I guess. Look, I don't want to sound like a dick and get you off the phone or anything, but is John there? I would really like to speak with him…" He trailed off rather distractedly in her opinion. She bit her lower lip and tangled the phone cord around her finger.

"Well, he is kind of busy right now. You'll have to call him back." She heard the sound of water turning on in the shower.

"Look Claire, you know I'm not usually rude like this, but I really need you to get him on the phone. It's…uh, you know…_urgent_." He sounded like he was in a hurry for something, but the tone of his voice made Claire a little suspicious. Why would he be calling there asking to speak with John when they had not been getting along at all for the past few weeks?

"What is this about, Andy? He is in the shower and he wouldn't be very happy if I disturbed him for just a phone call." She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

He sighed. "I can't really say at the moment…it's, uh, between me and him. I promise you though, that it_ is_ important. Hell, I'll pay you if I have to!" The desperation in his voice was reaching an alarming rate; it was enough to actually make her want to give John the phone.

"It's not good to bribe people, Andy. That can get you in trouble." She untangled the phone cord and stood up straight.

"Will you get him then?"

She shrugged at the phone. "Yeah I will, but don't get mad at me if he is all pissy at you."

Andy scoffed. "John, pissy? That's like saying Vernon wasn't cheesy."

She chuckled at the thought of their old vice principal. "I suppose so. Just hold on one second then, okay?"

"Sure." His voice lowered to a gentle tone. "Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks a lot. I won't bug you like this again." He sounded almost embarrassed by his tone of voice, which made her wonder just what it was that he was calling about.

She bit her lip once more and stared over her shoulder at the bathroom door. "Sure, no problem." She set the receiver down on the corner of the couch and made her way to the bathroom door. Using her finger nail to turn the cheap doorknob lock, she opened up the bathroom door. "Johnny?"

He pulled the curtain back to reveal his sopping wet face. "What do you want?"

She smiled at him slightly. "Don't get mad at me or anything, but Andy is on the phone."

He looked taken aback for a second. "Why would I get mad at you? He's the fucking idiot."

She rolled her eyes. "Well he's demanding that I come in here and pull you out of the shower just so that you can talk to him."

He looked disgusted. "Why the hell would I want to go talk to him while I am wet and naked? If you have to come in here it should be to get in here with me." His eyes looked far off for a second before he shook it off and looked annoyed again. "What the fuck does he want anyways?"

She sighed. "I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. He just said that it was really important and that he couldn't wait to call you back."

John snorted and went back behind the shower curtain. "He's probably just wantin' to kiss my ass some more."

"What?" Claire asked, not sure if she heard him correctly. "Why would he want to do that?"

He paused briefly. "Never mind, don't worry about that. I just don't want to talk to him."

She bit her lip and leaned against the tiled counter. "Why not?"

"Because it's just the same old fuckin' bullshit from him, and I don't care enough about him to bother listening. Tell him to go fuck himself." The water turned off and he reached his arm out of the curtain and grabbed a towel hanging on the rack.

"John, he sounded really…desperate, and Andy sounding desperate is not something that you hear everyday. I really do think that it's important…I swear on John Bon Jovi's life."

John pushed the curtain back from the shower and deadpanned. "In that case, Sporto can go fuck himself, and that faggot can die."

Claire giggled at his antics and opened the door. "Just at least go tell him that yourself."

John rolled his eyes and went towards their bedroom to use the phone in there instead. When she went to follow him, he stopped her. "Just…give me a sec, okay?"

Claire nodded her head slowly and went back to the living room. The receiver had been left on the couch, and she still 'technically' needed to hang it up. She lifted it very slowly - and as quietly as she could - and brought it to her ear for a moment.

"Bender, please…I'm not calling to fight with you. I really just need someone to talk to about this." Andy was sounding so sad and desperate now that Claire wondered if he was a fugitive on the run or something. If it were anyone other than Andy, she probably would have thought so.

"What the hell is there to talk about, Sporto? I think you know that I think you're a fucking dick…what else do you want me to say?"

There was a pause on Andy's end of the line before he sighed. "Look, you were right, okay? I'm not going to lie anymore…I did, uh, you know…you know what I did."

"I already knew that much, dickwad." What on earth could Andy have done that would cause that much tension between them? Claire put a hand over her mouth to control her breathing.

"I do love her, John. I asked her to marry me because of that. You know exactly how close we were before I left, and that hasn't changed."

She finally heard the frustration leave John's voice. "Then what? What excuse do you have?"

"None," Andy replied truthfully. "I did what I did because I was lonely and I missed her like crazy. For the first time in my life I actually felt freedom and happiness - things that I hadn't really ever felt before." There was a pause, and then he cleared his throat. "She was the one who talked me into the thought that it really was a good idea to leave everyone behind and go do something for myself. She taught me to think for myself."

"What the fuck is your point exactly?"

"My point is, while I was in Vancouver everything that was possibly good in my life was there - except for her. That hurt a lot, and not because it was her fault or anything, but just because I wish that she was there to see and do it all with me…"

"And how did that lead to…"

"I didn't have anyone to talk to like I could talk to her. I didn't have anyone to help me feel less homesick…or comfort me like she did." Andy sighed. "I just wanted her love and I couldn't have it at that time."

John growled. "Then you could've just called her, you fucking tart! You could've just came home when you were supposed to…or sent her nude pictures…or asked for nude pictures…or something! You didn't need to…"

"I know! I realize that now, and you are not helping by rubbing that mistake in my face! I know what I did was wrong, and I know that there is no excuse…but I can honestly say that going out there and doing my own thing - without her - took its toll on my head, and I wasn't exactly thinking very clearly." She heard Andy taking deep breathes on the other line. She had a gut feeling that what they were talking about was not something good at all.

"I'm telling her." John announced. "If you aren't going to do it, then I will. She has to know."

She heard a sharp intake of breath. "You don't need to. I'll do it, okay? I just need to wait until the time is right though…when she…"

John growled again. "When she what? When she's already married to you and she can't back out? Huh? Because I think right now is as perfect time as any for you to open your fucking mouth and tell her the truth."

"No, nothing like that," Andy breathed out sadly. "I'll tell her soon."

John grunted. "You've got two weeks. No bullshit, no sugar coating, no lies. If you don't I will kick your goddamned teeth in, and then tell her myself."

Andy cleared his throat. "So…where does this leave us? I don't wanna fight with…"

"It doesn't change a damn thing," John cut him off rudely. "I don't fucking condone what you did, and I still think you're a piece of scum. You're not hero-Andy to me…just remember that."

"Then can we at least just get along for everyone else's sake?" Andy asked hopefully.

"Whatever man, look, this shit is way to fuckin' mushy for me to handle. I'm fucking hanging up the phone now. I wish I could say it's been a pleasure, but you're too much of a shitbag for anything to be pleasurable." Claire bit her lip from laughing at that.

"Fair enough, but before you go…just one more thing."

Claire could almost hear John rolling his eyes at that. "What?" He asked impatiently.

"Cheating on her was the worst fucking mistake I've ever made. I want you to know that I regret it every fucking day and I only want to get on with my life and move on from it. You've been in my shoes; you should know how I feel."

John snorted. "No, when I fucked someone over they always knew about it. I may be an asshole, but I ain't no fucking liar." With that, John had hung up the phone.

A deep frown made its way to Claire's face as she let the receiver slip through her fingers and down to the cradle. She could not believe what she had just heard; after all the weeks of speculation, she had gotten a hold of the truth, and now she wished that she never knew.

Of any of the couples, Claire figured that Andy and Allison were always the perfect one that would last forever with no problems. They hardly ever fought, they adored each other's company…and they always held strong when everything around them had threatened to fall apart.

But images weren't at all how they appeared, and now she knew the truth of Andy's infidelities…and that he had betrayed her in the worst possible way she could imagine. What was she to do now with the information she had? Surely, she couldn't just tell Allison without Allison, John, and Andy all getting angry with her for butting her nose where it doesn't belong; at the same time, Claire felt she had an obligation to tell her friend.

John gave him two weeks though; John was closer to Allison than any of them were, and she figured if John could give Andy two weeks then it must be okay. She would not intentionally hurt Allison if her life depended on it, and she knew for sure that John would not either. She would only have to trust his lead.

Of course up until that point she would have trusted Andy's too…but that had all changed.

What a shitty way to start the day.

_**To Be Continued**_

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(1) - The prom was chapter 37-38, and the streaking incident was a flashback type sequence in chapter 42. Both chapters of course were in 'The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case".

**A/N**: Hey guys! Just so you know I have some new one-shots out (again). "Invisible" stars Andy in introspect; and 'Sex with Richard Vernon' is a Monday with a sex-ed twist fic, lol. So go on ahead and give those a read (and if you're real bored you can read 'Renegade' and 'Reality Shift' as well!). Cheap plugs, bad, I know. ;)

I hope you all enjoyed the latest edition! Keep on reading, and please review!


	12. Weigh on my Mind

**Title**: Since you're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketcase  
**Rated**: T for language, substance abuse, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Claire goes to Michelle when she needs someone to talk to; Andy helps cure his guilty conscience by buying an engagement ring.  
**A/N**: Just to be clear, Claire and John were NOT fighting last chapter. I think we all know how they like to banter with each other and not be all lovey dovey (if there's anything I hate more, it's a puddle of mush John and Claire.) They were simply bickering and being stubborn (as per usual), and were not fighting. There will be no great big John and Claire melodrama in this one as there was in "The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case". Now that that's out of the way, please enjoy chapter 12!

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Weigh on My Mind**

* * *

Claire stepped out of her car and quickly slammed the door behind her. The house in front of her was a house that she had come to so many times before when she needed advice or help of some sort. It was a nice house, only a block away from the one that she had grown up in; it was a two storey house with red bricks, and white siding. There was an iron fence that surrounded the house, and gardens full of lavish flower beds and small shrubs. Lucy Manning had always been an exceptional landscaper.

She knew that at that particular moment in time that it would be unwise to gossip about such news that had been plaguing her for the last two days. She had kept the fact that she known from John, who hadn't said a word about it to anyone since. She was expecting him to keep it quiet - he wasn't the type to gossip about such things - but in a way it bothered her that he kept things from her. He had been angry since the day Andy got home, and although she didn't know all of the fine details, she knew the gist of it. She just had to wonder why he wasn't up front about it from the start.

Claire was quite different than John was, however. She couldn't keep things bottled inside of her like he could, and she had to tell someone. It wasn't that she was gossiping or anything - because gossiping about either Andy or Allison would be the last thing that she would do, but her conscious was heavy and that was the purpose of her need for conversing.

She knew for damn sure that Allison had the right to know. In fact, it killed her just looking her friend in the face that very moment knowing what she knew. Allison was in the dark about the entire thing, and it hurt Claire more than anything not being able to just blurt it out. It was a wonder that John had kept quiet about it to her; John and Allison always looked out and took care of each other when times got rough, and it surprised Claire that John didn't outright say it as soon as he found out.

Allison had every fiber of her being dead set on marrying Andrew. She hadn't been as outwardly ecstatic about it as say Michelle had been, but Claire knew her friend well enough to know that she was happy with her life now. Allison always had a hard time with handling things - whether it be Andy, her emotions, her friends, her family - and it made Claire happy to finally know that she was happy with her life.

But was it fair that everything she was happy about was one big lie?

Claire adjusted her purse strap and sighed; she needed to talk to Michelle about it all. She walked up the stone driveway and approached the large oak door. Michelle had pulled the door open before Claire had even raised her hand to knock and smiled at her.

"Something tells me you need ice cream. I have ice cream! What kind do you want?" Michelle gave her an anxious smile and opened the door for her, gesturing for her to come inside.

Claire stepped past her and removed her shoes. "I don't need ice cream right now, Mic. I just need to talk is all."

Michelle nodded and took Claire's coat from her. "Well you're in luck. Brian took his little sister out to the city for the day, and mom is out at the gardening center looking for things."

Claire rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Her garden looks pretty finished to me."

Michelle smiled brightly, showing off her perfectly white teeth. "The front yes…the back, not so much. She wants to install a pond so that she can have some fish to look at."

Claire's eyes widened and she nodded her head in approval. "Well that would be nice. I always liked ponds. I wonder why my mom never wanted one."

Michelle led Claire into the living room, and the two took a seat on the sofa. "Well I think the fact that your backyard was overtaken by a pool, a hot tub, your brother's basketball space, and the guest house…you didn't have much room for one!" Michelle laughed at her good naturedly.

"I suppose you're right. It still would have been nice though. Ponds are so relaxing." Claire settled onto the sofa, curling her legs underneath of her. "Just something about them - watching them - makes you just want to curl up and take it easy."

Michelle nodded. "I agree. Speaking of which, I was thinking about having my wedding reception at one of the country clubs in Glencoe. That way we'd have a view of the water, next to no traffic going by, the parks…what do you think?"

Claire smiled. "I think that would be great. It's not much of a drive and it doesn't smell like Chicago."

Michelle perked an eyebrow at that. "You should come down to New York sometime; you wanna talk about smelly cities…"

Claire laughed at that. "I could only imagine. Sometimes I think Chicago is too big for me, you know? There's so much hustle and bustle that sometimes I feel like the world is going by without me." She leaned her face on her hand and sighed. "I could only imagine what you're going through. Some days I feel like I want to come back to Shermer."

Michelle nodded in understanding. "Why don't you? Your job is right outside the city anyways, and you wouldn't have to deal with downtown traffic, just the freeways."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Like that's any better."

"It is!" Michelle replied matter of factly. "It safer in Shermer, you know your way around the whole city, and plus the housing is cheaper."

"John would not move back to Shermer! There is no way!" Claire sat up straighter and smiled at her friend.

Michelle could only roll her eyes. "You can't let that bonehead dictate every choice you guys make. Just give him the puppy look, bring up that it would be better for the baby, and give him a nice romp in the room - that'll change his mind!"

"Michelle!" Claire scolded. "You're horrible! You actually think its okay to bribe a man with sex?"

"If I didn't then what would be the point of having it?" She deadpanned. Both girls just burst into laughter at that point. Having the tension momentarily forgotten felt good to Claire, but she knew that she had to get to the point. She and Michelle could have that conversation at a later date; she had to get this cheating business off of her chest before she either a) threw a temper tantrum, or b) started crying.

"Okay, seriously now…I really did come here to talk to you about something important, Mic." Claire tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smile faltered from her face. That sobered Michelle up immediately.

"What is it? Someone didn't die, did they? I can't deal with funerals AT ALL. My skin always gets blotchy, and…"

"Mic!" Claire interrupted her with a friendly glare. "You're sounding more and more like Brian every single time I see you! What has he done to you?"

Michelle blushed and shrugged. "Never you mind that. Just tell me what you wanted to say."

Claire sighed and stared her in the eye. "I found out what's going on."

Michelle's eyebrows rose. "You mean 'going on' going on?"

Claire nodded. "Like 'going on' going on."

"Like Andy and John 'going on' going on?"

Claire finally glared at her. "Yes Andy and John 'going on' going on, what other going on would be going on right now, Michelle?"

Michelle bit back a laugh and composed herself. "Okay, okay, sorry; I just got excited for a second there. So what's going on?"

Claire bit her lip. "I'll tell you if you promise me one thing first."

"What?" Michelle sat straighter. "What is it?"

"Stop saying 'what's going on'! It's annoying the crap out of me and distracting me from my train of thought! It's bad news, and I shouldn't be laughing!" Claire couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's antics. Michelle had always been funny that way.

Michelle shut up instantly. "It's bad news?"

Claire nodded. "I don't want this to turn into gossip, but I just felt like I had to talk to you about it just for the sake of being able to talk about it with someone. John doesn't know that I know, and neither does Andy…or Allison for that matter." Claire tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted her weight. "I kind of went snooping where I don't belong and now I regret it."

Michelle cursed. "Damnit, we should have thought about that!"

Claire glared at her. "I know that now! What's worse is now I don't even know what to do now that I do know!"

Michelle pretty much twitched at that point. "So tell me already!"

Claire sighed. "Andy was with someone else."

A confused look passed over Michelle's face. "What do you mean he was with someone else? Why does that make John upset?" She paused momentarily before the light bulb turned on. "He cheated on John?"

Claire shut her eyes and let out a snort. "No! He cheated on Allison!"

"Oh!" Michelle loudly stated as she put it all together. "Oh no! That is a majorly bad thing! He asked Allison to marry him; they're in love, oh my god! What are we going to do? How the hell did you figure this out anyways?"

Claire felt her face fall. "John took off while I was in the shower without telling me where he was going, he was supposed to be driving me to work, but he went over to Andy's instead. I don't know what happened there, but supposedly they fought."

"How did John find out?" Michelle interrupted.

Claire shrugged. "I have no clue. All I know is that Andy called looking for John after he had left, and when John got on the phone I listened in on their conversation."

"They'll be so angry with you if they find out, Claire! You shouldn't eavesdrop on people!" Michelle scolded.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Thanks mom, I know that. The problem is that John and Andy are on bad terms, John hasn't told anyone, Andy has two weeks to tell Allison, and Allison thinks that they're getting married and everyone is happy for her! This is so wrong."

Michelle nodded. "John didn't tell Allison?"

Claire rubbed her temples. "No he didn't, surprisingly. He is the one who is all angry about this. Andy…I don't know if I can be mad at Andy."

Michelle scrunched up her face. "Why not? He betrayed her! He lied to everyone and then had the guts to propose to her!"

Claire shrugged. "I've known Andy for a long time, and I know for a fact that he doesn't make stupid impulsive decisions without there being something more behind it."

Michelle didn't seem to buy that. "What about taping Larry Lester's butt?"

Claire cringed at the memory of Larry. "It was wrong - and I sure as hell didn't condone it - but Andy was having a lot of problems then. He didn't do it for the sake of just making the kid look bad. When Andy does things they make sense to him at the time, and in a weird way they can make sense to other people if he explains it to them, do you know what I mean?"

Michelle shrugged. "Like the prom thing?"

Claire raised an annoyed eyebrow. "What prom thing? With John?!"

Michelle bit her lip. "Nothing! Go on."

"Well since you seem to catch my drift," Claire gave her a suspicious look. "Andy seemed genuinely remorseful and guilty about what he did. The way he explained it - although I don't agree with it - made sense. I can't be angry at him because of a mistake that he made. I wouldn't be a very good friend if I did."

Michelle nodded. "Okay, fair enough; I can give him the benefit of a doubt. But where do we go from here?"

Claire shrugged. "John gave him two weeks to tell Allison or else he will. I just can't stand the thought of not telling her myself; I feel like a bad friend. I just…don't know…"

Michelle nodded at her. "Then you let it be. Andy will be working on it, and if he doesn't then John will. I think that you've done enough by finding out, and you should just play it cool as if you know nothing. It's in everyone's best interest if you do."

"Are you sure?" Claire asked hesitantly.

Michelle sat on that thought for a couple of seconds before she too nodded her head. "Yeah, I am."

* * *

Andy pulled open the large glass door and stepped into the fragile room; it wasn't his first time in a jewelry store, but it was his first time buying something in one. It was a bit intimidating to him, but at that point in his life he was more than ready to buy the most expensive ring that money could buy and give it to Allison.

It was the least he could do.

Bender had really opened up his eyes. He always knew that the others looked up to him in a way - it was just the vibe he gave other people - but he had no idea just how much his mistake would impact them all. He had never been the big screw up in the group; in the past - those who would remain nameless had enough screw ups to spread around the whole group…and they always came to him when they needed help.

Now, he came home and didn't even know that Claire was having a baby. He had no idea that Brian and Michelle were planning on getting married, and he had no idea that John had grown up from being a stupid punk with a bad attitude, to someone who had taken his place.

John was the one that they all went to; they felt most comfortable telling him. He wasn't sure why because John was still a pretty big asshole, but at the same time he had been gone for so long that he totally missed out on the Breakfast Club.

The breakfast club came into his life four years ago, and after six months it pretty much left again until then. The breakfast club had come into John, Allison, and Claire's life four years ago, and stayed there. Their lives revolved around each others' and Andy was just someone who came and went - someone who they had yet to see his biggest downfalls.

For people who were supposed to know a lot about him, they sure didn't see much.

He had let them down and he was never going to be looked at the same way again - he was pretty sure that John would see to that. Hell, Andy wasn't so sure that even Allison would have anything to do with him ever again once she found out.

He wouldn't be able to go through his life if that happened.

He tapped his finger down on the glass counter in front of him; the clerk immediately gave him his attention. "You found something you like, sir?"

Andy looked down at the silver band with the small onyx and diamond stone in it. "Yeah, I think so."

The clerk approached him and unlocked the counter, taking the small jewel out of its display case and placed it into Andy's hand. It was definitely not a traditional engagement ring in any sense of the word, but Allison was a unique woman, and she loved black and silver. He wanted to give her the whole world…she definitely deserved that and more from him.

"How much?"

_**TBC**_

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**A/N**: A bit short, I know, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. Please don't forget to review! 


	13. Making Plans

**Title**: Since You're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketCase  
**Rating**: T for language, substance abuse, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Allison and Andrew make plans to go out; Allison asks Claire a huge favor, and later decides to get a blast from the past as she returns home to Shermer.  
**A/N**: God that took me forever and a day to update, didn't it? I apologize! I'm having a bit of trouble with Allison recently (strange, I know), but hopefully that's all over now. This is a lot of filler that I _needed_ - which is another reason why it took me forever - but I need more lead-up, unfortunately. So I hope you aren't too bored with it and that you do like it!

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**Chapter 13 - Making Plans**

* * *

_Wednesday June 15, 1988_

* * *

"Can we meet Friday night?" Allison smiled into the phone receiver; she was talking to Andrew. "I really want to spend a night out with you. I've been so busy at work…" 

She heard him chuckle on the other end. "We can do whatever you want…" He trailed off quietly. "I really need to talk to you about something that's been on my mind lately."

She frowned at the hesitation in his voice. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Um…" He cleared his throat. "No, you don't have to worry about it right now. We'll talk about it when we go out, okay?"

She wasn't entirely sure that she liked the sounds of that. "Fine, if that's the way you want to be. Can I see you before then?"

"Well to hold you over I do have something that I have to give to you," Andy continued on, this time which a little more optimism in his voice. "If you want to come over tomorrow we can see what movies they're playing on TV?"

She rolled her eyes at that. "I suppose. I guess sitting in front of the TV on a nice day is alright if you're there too." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled as Claire walked through their apartment door. "How's work been going for you?"

She almost heard him smile on the other end. "It's been great! I get to start going to the White Sox games this weekend for game reports. I'm still a little bummed that they didn't send me to do the Cubs, but I'll take anything."

"I've never known you to be picky," She smiled once again. "But I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I mean, it's gotta be better than the Vancouver paper, right?"

He laughed at that. "Well The Tribune pays more."

"All for the money, are we?" She teased. "That doesn't sound like you!"

"Har har, very funny. I didn't spend four years in university to make a lousy salary, you know. I think it's perfectly acceptable to feel a little valuable."

"Fine, fine, you're great, perfect, and oh-so-talented. Does that make you feel better?" She laid back on the couch and propped her feet up on the arm. She was having an incredibly lazy day.

"It would if you would've mentioned how amazingly smart and handsome I am…" He trailed off with a chuckle.

She perked an eyebrow at that. "Huh, well excuse me for forgetting about your ego the size of Russia."

"That small?" He joked.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised there is enough pressure in the atmosphere to contain it all. Whatever shall we do?"

"I say let it be," He suggested.

"I'll do that," She laughed, "In the meantime though, I have to get going. I have somewhere I have to be…"

"Well if that's what you want," He feigned mock disappointment.

She rolled her eyes. "It is, but I will talk to you later, you big baby."

"I love you."

She smiled at that and sat up. "I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow." She leaned over the length of the couch and hung the phone back up on its cradle and sighed. Their phone conversations could be so juvenile sometimes; if she was on the outside looking in, she would probably be making fun of herself. She laughed at that and walked towards the hallway where she heard Claire rustling about in her bedroom.

"Are you busy?" She asked from outside the door.

"Um…no, uh…come on in," She heard the red-headed girl call from inside the room. Allison shrugged her shoulders and pushed open the door. It always amazed her how neat John and Claire kept their bedroom; Allison's was always a disaster that always found a way to look horrible even when she did spend hours cleaning it up. Claire's room, on the other hand, was very organized and neat…almost like she spent an hour vacuuming any loose particle every single spare minute that she had.

Claire was standing on the opposite side of the bed from the door and was folding up some clothing that she brought up from the laundry room in the basement level of the building. She gave Allison an awkward smile. "What's up?"

Allison cocked an eyebrow and sat on the edge of the bed. "I should be asking you that question; you've been acting really weird lately."

Claire quickly dropped her clothes back into the basket and joined Allison on the bed. "No! I'm fine, really. There is absolutely nothing wrong with me."

"Right…" Allison perked an eyebrow at that. "You've been totally avoiding me like the plague!"

"That is so not true!" Claire protested. She had a hard time keeping eye contact with her, but her voice was pleading. Allison wasn't sure if she could believe it or not. "I've just been really busy."

Allison's eyebrows rose slightly. "Is that so? I haven't ever seen you spend so much time in your bedroom before."

Claire shrugged and picked at her pants. "Seriously, Allison, I've just been busy - I swear. If I had a problem, then you would be the first person that I would tell."

"Fair enough," Allison conceded. She sure did hope that she would be the person that Claire would go to; they'd been such good friends for so long that she would feel very hurt if Claire could no longer confide in her. They had been through way too much together. "How's the baby stuff going?"

Claire smiled at the topic change. "It's going great. I had another doctor's appointment yesterday."

Allison grinned at her friend. "It's not too long now…"

"I know," Claire replied happily. "Only three more months to go; I can't believe how well it's going so far."

"That furniture that John's making is coming along really nice; he has a lot of talent." Allison added.

Claire smiled dreamily. "I know, he's being so great through all of this. I never expected him to be so excited about a baby."

Allison nodded. "He always tries to hide his excitement about everything, but it doesn't surprise me that he's happy; I think he'd make a good dad…"

"Oh definitely," Claire agreed. "It's just so cute though…I mean, I would never tell him that because he would probably throw a fit, but I think he'd be great."

Allison nodded distantly and laid back on the bed. "I think Andy would be a good dad too. He was always good with kids…especially my little brothers when I couldn't ever stand them."

Claire flopped down next to her on the bed and a silly grin spread across her face. "_You_ want to have kids? Who would've thought?!"

Allison smacked her playfully on the arm. "I never said that."

"But you were thinking it," Claire teased. "I know that one day you'll have them and you'll love them like a cheesy little mommy-mom!"

"Like you?" Allison retorted, smacking her with a pillow. "Not a chance!"

Claire looked at her seriously for a second. "I really do hope that things work out between the two of you. No matter what happens, I want you to know that, okay?" Her eyes were a bit misty and her smile was faltered. "I really think that you guys are perfect for each other."

Allison's eyebrows furrowed. "Sure, Claire…don't get all teary-eyed on me or anything. I'm sure everything will work out."

Claire smiled and sat back up. "I hope so."

Allison rolled her eyes. "Look, I was thinking…I really can't do this whole wedding planning thing - it's really not my style - so I was thinking that maybe you…"

A silly grin spread across Claire's face. "I'll do it!"

"I never even finished what I was saying!" Allison protested, but grinned anyways. "But if that's your answer, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Claire laughed at that. "If I can survive being Michelle's maid of honor, I can handle you no problem."

Allison stood from the bed and dusted off her pants. "I'd hope so…thanks."

Claire smiled. "No problem. You going some where?"

Allison bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to go see my dad."

* * *

Allison hopped off of the bus when she reached Queen St; it was the in the south-western corner of Shermer, and pretty much just on the outside of the run-down neighborhood that she grew up in. Her father had bought another house after he had married Pamela the summer following her junior year. Of course, they bought a house with three bedrooms - for them and the two boys - and just figured that Allison would take the basement or something. She never really got the chance to live in the house as she moved in with Claire before the final deal with the bank had closed. Because of that, she had hardly even been through the entire place, only having visited a small number of times. 

Her relationship with her father had not gotten much better since her teenage years, but she did get a long with Pam well now. However when she did meet with the older woman, it was usually somewhere in Chicago for lunch. She knew damn well that Pam disapproved of the sour relationship between Allison and her father, but she couldn't for the life of her find a way to tolerate him for Pam's sake - they were a lost cause.

She wasn't even entirely sure how her father would take the news; she figured that he probably wouldn't care too much. Pamela would be extremely excited for her obviously, as she had always adored Andy (sometimes a little too much for Allison's tastes). It would make sense to tell them the news as soon as possible though because they _were_ her family. Would they offer to participate in the wedding party? She had so many questions on her mind for them.

She walked up the gravel driveway and took in the sight of the yard. There was a basketball net, hockey sticks, bikes of all different types, skateboards, and a whole slew of toys strewn all over the place. Jacob and Mark were just hitting the early years of adolescence, and it showed.

It did sort of hit her where it hurt though, seeing all of the cool toys and obvious attention that the boys got from their 'parents'. Her dad treated the two of them like gold because they could do all sorts of 'man' things together like work on the car and play football. She had to wonder why it took another woman's kids to grab his attention when his own daughter could not. Her father was a bit of a strange man that way, she guessed, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Maybe it was just boys that he wanted all along; it didn't help that Allison was the one that he blamed for messing up the life that he had planned for himself, but she was a girl that he could in no way relate to. On the other hand, it could have been possible that he paid so much attention to Jacob and Mark because he wanted to make up for the way things happened with him and Allison.

Or that could have just been wishful thinking on her part.

She stepped up the three wooden steps and rang the door bell next to the handle. The door was painted a strange color of peacock blue, while the rest of the siding on the house was a baby pink. The color pallet definitely looked like Pamela's doing.

The door was pulled open and a red-headed, pimply faced boy stood there with a bored expression on his face. Allison gave him half a grin. "Can I come in?"

"Are you gonna be a freak?" He asked rudely. Mark certainly hadn't changed much since she'd last seen him.

"Does kicking your stupid little butt count?" She retorted. He only glared at her and slammed the door in her face. The stupid little kid had always hated her for some reason that she could never decipher. At least she tried to be pleasant.

"Mark!" She heard Pamela scold him from behind the door. "Don't treat company that way! Do you want to go to your room?" Pam pulled the door open and almost squealed when she saw Allison. "Oh my god, it's been ages! How have you been?"

Allison shrugged at her and smiled. "Good, I guess. Can I come in?"

Pamela playfully smacked herself in the forehead with embarrassment. "Silly me! I'm so sorry, come in, dear."

Allison smiled at her and pulled the door open. The house looked like it had been repainted since she had last been there; the kitchen, which was immediately to her left, was a yellow color, while the living room to her right was a light shade of apple green. Pamela was almost obsessed with home décor, so it didn't really surprise Allison much. At least it wasn't in the disgusting shape that her and her father's old apartment had been in. She took off her shoes and left them on the black welcome rug at the door and proceeded to follow Pam into the living room.

"So are you still working at that old record store downtown?" Pam asked curiously as she sat down on the chair adjacent to the couch on the middle part of the wall, where Allison sat.

"Yes, I'm the assistant manager now." She pulled her purse strap over her shoulder and set the bag down on the floor. "It's pretty much just me and Eddie in the place now; we close early."

Pam nodded. "You weren't hit by that string of robberies, were you?"

Allison shook her head amusedly. "No, we close early so that we won't be."

"Did you want anything to drink?" She asked politely.

"No, I'm okay…I just stopped by to talk to my dad though. Is he around?" Allison looked around her for any sign of the older man.

Pam shook her head quickly. "No, he's away on business. That's where he usually is nowadays, unfortunately. It's almost hard for _me_ to catch him most of the time."

Allison furrowed her eyebrows. "Since when do contractors travel?"

Pam sat back and bit her lip. "He was offered a permanent job at one of the refineries just outside of town. He has to travel to other parts of the country like Houston and Virginia where the big ones are for meetings…I don't know what on earth they would have to talk about…it seems pretty boring to me."

Allison smiled at her naivety. "I'm sure it isn't anything I'd find amusing."

Pam rolled her eyes. "No probably not." She clapped her hands together in her lap and smiled. "Is there anything that I can do for you though? Do you need to borrow something? Some money? What did you need?"

Allison snorted and stared down at her hands. "I just wanted to let you guys know that Andy came home from school."

Pam basically squealed and rushed to sit next to Allison in all of the excitement. She grabbed her hand and grinned happily. "That's such great news! How is that cutie-pie doing?"

Allison snorted. "He's okay, I guess. He just started a job in the Tribune with a Sport's column; he has his own apartment, and he's happy to be home, I guess."

"Well good for him!" Pam approved. "What's the news then?"

"He asked me to marry him."

"WHAT!?" Pam exclaimed excitedly. "Shut up!"

Allison rolled her eyes. "For real."

"That is such amazing news! I'm so happy for you, honey! I knew from the way I saw him look at you when he came to pick you up for prom that he was just so in love with you." She put a hand on her chest as if she was genuinely touched, and her eyes began to well up. "He is so perfect for you."

Allison bit her lip. "I hope so."

Pam gave her a stern look. "Do not tell me that you said no! You would be crazy to!"

Allison chuckled at that. "No, I said yes…I just hope that I'm making the right choice is all."

"Why wouldn't you be?" She asked curiously. "You guys have been together for well over four years now."

She nodded in agreement. "I know that, but we spent most of it away from each other. How do I know that he is even the guy that I want to be with?"

"In my opinion, if you guys can make it through four grueling years of a long distance relationship then you can do anything! Those types of relationships are killer, and you were strong enough to pull through without even breaking up once. That takes loyalty and a great deal of love to do that, you know."

Allison considered that. "You don't think I'm rushing into anything?"

Pam gave her a stern look. "Do _you_ think you're rushing into anything?"

She shrugged and sighed. "I just don't know. Claire and Michelle just seem to think it's so god damn great just because we're all together again, and I can't seem to talk to anyone who thinks it's not a good idea."

Pam looked confused. "It sounds to me like you want someone to say no to you."

"No, it's not that," She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I don't know…"

"You'll be fine, you're just nervous and anxious," Pam reasoned. "You have nothing to be afraid of. Do you love him?"

Allison started to feel a little more emotional. "More than anything else in the whole world."

Pam smiled at that. "And does he love you?…Which you can't even say no because I know that he does!"

Allison nodded. "Yes; I don't doubt at all that he does."

Pam wrapped her arms around Allison's shoulders and hugged her. "Then you have nothing to worry about, I promise. You just be happy for yourselves and take as much time as you need. I don't think you'll regret it."

Allison wiped at the tears that began to fall from her eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Pam."

"You're welcome; you have everything in the world to be happy and thankful for, you know."

_**TBC**_

* * *

(-) Remember that Pam was the woman that was dating Allison's father in the prequel, and the two (Allison and Pam) did not get along until the night before the prom that they had a talk and finally began to bond with one another. 

**A/N**: Thank you so much for your patience (I know it was just filler, but I promise that it will be really picking up the next few chapters). I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless, and please don't forget to review!


	14. Don't You Ever Shut Up?

**Title**: Since You're Gone  
**Author**: TWBasketCase  
**Rated**: T for language, violence, substance use, and sexuality  
**Chapter Summary**: Allison and Andy get together and talk; and Brian starts asking questions that Bender doesn't want to listen to.  
**A/N**: It's been freaking forever, feel free to shoot me. I think once I get past this chapter things will definitely look up. Next chapter is where I want to be, damnit! But anyways, if you still like this story (and are still even reading it), I hope that you enjoy this. More freaking character development. Whoopee. ;)

Also, I'm probably really teetering on the rating with this chapter, so please be prepared for that. I'm not going to write anything too racy because I don't want to have to rate this fic M…so just consider this a warning.

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**Chapter 14 - Don't You Ever Shut Up?**

* * *

"So then I asked her why she would even want to go with that measurement because it doesn't even make sense…in that formulaic scientific sense. I never even thought there would be a scientific way to arrange decorations…but when you get into symmetry, and angles, and algebra and all that good stuff…it just…the whole thing doesn't make sense to me."

John stared across the table at Brian with a glare. "Who the fuck cares about all that stuff!?"

Brian smiled and picked up a new card from the top of the pile that sat between them. "Lots of people do. Even you do as a mechanic, and you don't even realize it."

"Because I don't give a shit."

Brian just stared at him. "Well, I hope that you never fix my brakes."

John growled and picked up a card. "I need a six."

"I can't help you with that," Brian laughed at him. "Do you ever even consider that maybe someday it could be you having to deal with this problem? It's a very important event you know. I know that Claire would be really happy, you know, and I think that maybe you should think about it." Brian paused and stared at his cards. "Ten?"

John shook his head. "No, I don't ever consider myself in your stupid situation. You're arranging fucking flowers, you fag."

Brian perked an eyebrow and picked up another card. "You're cranky today."

"King?" John asked, and grinned when Brian handed it over. "I'm not fucking cranky, dweebie. I just don't want to talk about the freaking Newton law of triangle decimal fuck."

"John, that's not even a law," Brian pointed out. "It's not even the flowers that I was referring to. I was referring to getting married to Claire."

John sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; the conversation topic came up way more fucking times than he wanted it to. His mom nagged the shit out of him for knocking up a girl out of wedlock, and Claire's parents were no better; he was also pretty aware of the conversations that Claire had with her damn friends too. They pretty much fucking pitied her for not being married. Why the hell was it so important anyways? It was just two stupid rings and a stupid pact stating that your life was officially over: you were owned. He was perfectly content with the way things were already going.

"I know what you were referring to," John spat, and slid an ace across the table. "And no, I don't consider it."

"But how come?" Brian asked him with a friendly tone. "I'm not trying to pressure you, you know. You seem to have a lot on your plate, and I was beginning to wonder if maybe you were just a little bothered by all of the wedding talk with everyone."

John just stared at him and laughed. Leave it up to Brian to worry about the funniest shit; as annoyed as John tried to act, the younger boy always ended up making him laugh. "Why would you even think that was the reason I was bitchy, dork?"

"What else would it be?" Brian asked, rolling his eyes. "I know that I get pretty annoyed with it. It's all babies, weddings, babies, weddings, love, and kisses."

"I thought you loved that?" John deadpanned and grabbed another card. "You're all up in that shit like Oprah."

Brian shrugged. "I just want to keep people happy, that's all. There's nothing wrong with that. But the girls are a bit much, you know. All they ever do is squeal and try on new outfits and buy shoes, and stuff. But you just seem like something is really bothering you lately."

"I got a lot of work to do," John huffed, and asked Brian for another six - to which he _again_ said no to. "I have to work twelve's, and get this baby shit straightened out. I don't fucking care about wedding crap and other people's bullshit."

"If you're stressed John sometimes some activities might help. Maybe you can try yoga? They offered this free class at Columbia last February and it really did relieve a lot of stress. I did pull a muscle in my back though…" Brian trailed off and put down a set of doubles. He had no cards left, and shot John a triumphant grin. "I win."

"Why would I do yoga!?" John nearly screeched and threw his cards down. "And why the hell were we playing 'Go Fish'?"

"I kept beating you at poker?" Brian suggested. "And yoga _is_ good for your health. Maybe you wouldn't be so _bunged up_ all the time if you relieved your stress and did something healthy instead of smoke and drink beer."

John glared. "I wouldn't be caught dead doing that crap. That's almost as gay as drinking green tea and eating tofu."

"That's not gay, that's a choice of diet," Brian stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the whole world. John snorted at that, but the blonde haired boy gave him a serious look. "I'm your friend, okay? You might think this is all just a big joke, but I'm being serious. You really do need to relax a bit."

As much as John wanted to wedgie him at that moment for being a nerd, he kept his mouth shut. "Look, I'm not the one that you need to worry about, so don't worry about me, okay?"

"That's cryptic," Brian scoffed and stood from his chair to stretch his limbs. "But not completely unlike you to switch the focus off of yourself. But whatever, you suit yourself. I'm sick of playing cards."

John stared at his pile of doubles and briefly wondered if 'go fish' was even considered a card game at his age. "Wanna get drunk?"

Brian sighed. "I have to be up early in the morning."

"So?" John asked; he sure as hell didn't think that was a good excuse. "What does that have to do with anything? You get all pissy and want me to feel better, but you won't do what I want!"

"You sound like a four year old," Brian laughed and walked toward the kitchen of John's shared apartment. "And that's saying something about you."

"Whatever," John muttered and threw himself on the sofa lazily.

"Why don't we give Andy a call?" Brian's voice carried from the kitchen.

"Let's not and pretend we did!" John snapped. "Unless you have a secret plan to abduct him and go drop him off in Wisconsin."

Brian appeared back in the living room with a frown on his face and a glass of water in his hand. "That wouldn't be very nice, I don't think."

"Of course not," John snapped as he turned on the television. "We wouldn't want to ever do that to him."

Brian shoved John's legs off of the couch and sat down next to him. "He's my friend, but I didn't think you were being serious in the first place." John watched as Brian scratched his head and gave him a serious look. "You know, I haven't seen you guys do this alpha male thing in a long time. Don't you think you're being just a little immature?"

John stared hard at the blonde haired boy. "No."

"But why are you doing it? Are things bothering you that much?" Brian nearly looked exasperated by that point.

John didn't want to get all sentimental and have a mushy conversation, but at the same time he felt kind of bad for acting like a jack ass. Brian didn't get to come down and see them all that often, and it wasn't right that they were all fighting while he did. "Look, I'm just fucking tired, alright? I work too much."

Brian snorted. "You're supposed to be at work right now."

"And your point?"

Brian just gave him a small smile. "You'll never change."

John couldn't help but grin at the fact that Brian was trying to mother him. The younger man had always put the well being of his friends first and foremost, and it was something that John both appreciated _and_ hated. He couldn't for the life of him understand how Brian could be so caring and all that other garbage. But if the kid had one thing going for him, it was the fact that he would never become a lying shit eater; Brian was a good friend who was as equally as good for getting John's mind off of stressful things.

"So you wanna get drunk or not?" John offered one last time.

* * *

Andrew watched Allison intently as she finished off her soup. He had managed to get her over to his apartment after a long day at work so that he could get her fed and spend the night with her…and give her the ring he had bought.

It hurt his heart to watch her sit there so innocently and unaware of the guilt that was piling on him at an alarming rate. He was trying his hardest to show her how much he really did love her, and how much she really meant to him, before he took her out for dinner the following night and broke the news to her about his misdeeds with Alex in Vancouver. The thought of Allison ever thinking other wise about his feelings was nearly too much pain to bear.

It was the farthest thing from the truth.

"What are you thinking about?"

He turned his head to look at her. "Just how beautiful I think you are."

A slight blush colored her cheeks. "Well I'm glad to know that you think me slurping soup out of a bowl is attractive."

Andy smiled at her bluntness. "It doesn't matter what you're doing; it won't change my mind."

"I'm sure I could challenge that theory," she gave him a toothy grin from her spot on the couch. "But seriously, your head has been in the clouds all afternoon. What's wrong?"

He just blinked. "Have you ever…done something that didn't make any sense to you?"

"What do you mean?" Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Like if you thought really strongly about something, but then did something that was the total opposite?" he paused and raked a hand through his hair. "Like just pure confusion drowns out any rationality or logic in your mind…and you're just left wondering what in the world came over you?"

She bit her lower lip. "That was deep."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm just…mumbling, or something."

She shuffled over from her place on the couch and sat closely beside him. He watched her carefully as she rested her head lightly on his shoulder and snaked her arm around his waist in - what he guessed - was an attempt of comfort. "It sounds important to me…" she murmured.

He turned his head to the side and brushed his lips against her hair. "It is…it's just…"

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. "You can tell me. I won't think any differently of you. We've come this far."

"I know," Andy whispered, but broke eye contact. "I just want you to know that whatever happens I love you - no matter what." He could sense all of the emotion brewing in her eyes, and suddenly the seriousness of the situation really came into fruition in his mind; he had to tell her how he felt before it was too late. "Allison, I would travel to the end of the world and back for you…I'd die for you."

If it was anyone else but Allison he was talking to, he probably would've freaked them out.

"And I feel the same way," she mumbled. "Why do I get the feeling there's more to it though?"

Andy bit his lip. "There is, but we won't get into that until tomorrow, okay? I have something else I want to do right now."

Her curious eyes glowed. "That sounds just a little more optimistic."

"It is," he let a grin stretch across his face and reached into his back pocket. Soft velvet brushed across his finger tips, and he clutched the box tightly in his hand, and produced it to her. "I wanted to be a little more…formal."

She smirked at him. "See_, this_ is more like something you would do."

"Fine, fine," he grinned and stood from the couch so that he could kneel in front of her. He placed his left knee on the carpet, and kept the other leg in a more upright position and propped his arm on it for balance. He gave her one more goofy grin before he held the box out to her. "Allison, will you marry me?"

She snorted and burst into a fit of laughter. Not one to be deterred, he rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand to slide the ring onto her finger. And of course, being the not-so-traditional girl she was, Allison continued to laugh at him.

"Are you done?" Andy asked her.

She smiled at him and held out her hand to check out the ring. "Oooh black!"

"Yes and silver…and expensive," he grinned and crawled up next to her on the couch. "I figured you wouldn't necessarily be into all that white gold shit that's so popular these days."

She scrunched up her face and gazed at him. "No, not really. This is good."

"Good?" he chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to know that my tastes are decent at best."

"Oh you aren't decent, you big baby," She cooed before leaning into him to give him a sweet kiss. "You're wonderful…" she kissed him again. "Handsome…" she laughed softly against his lips, and the hot air made the hairs on his neck stand up. "You're sexy…" she trailed off again.

He slid one hand across her thigh and let it settle on the soft curve of her hip, and slid the other along the backside of her neck. Their lips massaged each other in a very torturously slow rhythm until he began to move along the side of her mouth and up her jaw line until he reached the soft, delicate flesh of her ear lobe. "Is there anything else?" He chuckled before sucking lightly on the tiny lobe.

She moaned softly at the touch and moved closer to him so that she was in his lap. "Umm…talented…" her back arched forward to give him better access to her neck. "Incredible, and…oh…so nice to look at…" she giggled when he nipped at a tender spot on the crook of her neck.

"You make it sound like my looks are the best things going for me…" Andy trailed off as he made his kissing trail turn around back to her mouth. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended," he joked.

Her heavy lidded eyes twinkled lustfully as she gave him a sultry grin. "Oh, definitely flattered," she trailed off before capturing his lips in another hungry kiss. When their tongues collided, Andy hadn't remembered feeling so ecstatic since their last night in the park together before he left for British Columbia. He loved the fact that he could still feel like a teenager with her when they touched, even after four and a half long years. (1)

Her small, cool hand ran down the side of his cheek and slowly down his neck until it came to a rest on his chest. She was always roaming her hands around all different areas of his body when she wanted him. Playfully, she would tease him by trailing her nails down his back, or softly pinching his sensitive nipples. She always managed to surprise him when they were together. Trailing even lower, her hands came to a stop just below his belly button.

He slowly began to lay back on the couch and brought her down with him. All of the guilt that had plagued his mind all afternoon slowly began to slip away as he became mesmerized with her soft lips and traveling fingers. A soft moan escaped her lips as she slipped her fingers just below the waist line of his pants and slowly stroked the flesh of his stomach. A shiver jumped up his spine and he broke the contact between their lips.

"Allison?"

She opened up her eyes and watched him from behind a thick wall of lashes. "Yeah?"

"I love you," he mumbled and stroked her hair.

"I love you, too," she whispered and kissed the tip of his nose. "Thanks for the ring…I really do love it."

"You deserve it," he whispered and chastely kissed her lips again. "What do you say we go to my room?"

She smirked wordlessly and pushed herself off of him, and no sooner was the warmth of her body gone that she grabbed a handful of his belt and roughly pulled him up toward her.

…but he wasn't going to complain. He wanted to bask in her love and attention before it was too late.

_**TBC**_

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(1) Chapter 41 of…you guessed, the prequel. Andy and Allison spent one last night together in their favorite meeting spot in Shermer before he left.

**A/N 1**: A little descriptive, I know, but I wouldn't complain if I were you. In fact, I would ENJOY it while you still can :P and don't be mad at the filler-ness, because there will be _none_ of that next chapter.

**A/N 2**: And once you marvelous people are done reviewing this story (because we all know you want to!), please please please head on over to the **Breakfast Club** main page and a read a story called_: "Hungry?"_ by **The Brain and The Basketcase**. Take one wild guess who the basket case in that situation is? Huh? Huh? Me?! Yeah, you're right! Actually not only did I write half of that story, but my dear friend and fellow Breakfast Club writer **MidnightBlue88** wrote the other half! That's right, a collaboration! So if you love AndyAllison (which I know you do if you're reading this story _obviously_), and you like my work…and hers…THEN READ IT! And review it too while you're at it!

Thanks for reading!


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